And the report notes that desert balloons between 1966 and 1972 lifted and dropped mock interplanetary probes.

With STS-30 Atlantis became the first shuttle to launch an interplanetary probe.

This technique is sometimes used by interplanetary probes to obtain a boost in velocity by passing close by a planet.

They looked more like interplanetary probes under construction than anything biological.

American interplanetary probes continued in the '80s, the Voyager duo being the most famous.

It was, however, a very ambitious mission and the heaviest interplanetary probe launched up to that time.

Cassini is an interplanetary probe set to leave for Saturn next month with 72 pounds of plutonium on board.

Japanese interplanetary probes have been limited to Small Solar System bodies such as comets and asteroids.

The Vesta mission would have consisted of two identical double-purposed interplanetary probes to be launched in 1991.

The asteroid belt has a much higher concentration of large-ish objects, and no interplanetary probe will ever hit one.