A pair of the Soviet Union’s Vega 1 and Vega 2 spacecraft launched in 1984 that were the first ones to fly balloons on another planet (Venus, 1985) and then the first ones to image the nucleus of a comet (1P/Halley, 1986).
Series of the Soviet Union’s 16 spacecraft sent to Venus in 1961–1983. The missions accomplished a number of firsts, including the first human made device to enter the atmosphere of another planet (Venera 3, 1966), to measure in situ atmosphere composition of another planet (Venera 4, 1967), to make a soft landing on another planet (Venera 7, 1970), and to return images from another planetary surface (Venera 9, 1975).