28 July 2026 marks 35 years until the expected return of Halley's Comet, anticipated to become visible again in July 2061. On this day, we look back at newly digitised records from the Giotto mission--one of Europe's most ambitious space endeavours and an illustration of what can be achieved through scientific cooperation.
Curiosity and ambition
The story of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Giotto mission was driven by the curiosity and ambition of space scientists to explore the unknown and expand the possibilities of space science. One such scientist was Roger-Maurice Bonnet (1937–2026), ESA's Director of Science from 1983 to 2001.
Bonnet helped establish Horizon 2000, ESA's first long-term science programme, and led the development of the telescope for the Halley Multicolour Camera, which flew aboard the Giotto space probe. In March 1986, ESA's first deep-space mission made its historic fly-by of Halley's Comet, returning the first close-up images of its nucleus and marking a milestone for European space science.
"React with vision”
ESA’s achievement should not be taken for granted: prior to the mission, the work on exploring Halley’s Comet had been planned with the collaboration of the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As explained in the files, Bonnet related that “In the early 80s, NASA and ESA got together and they wanted to do something for comet Halley. Congress did not allow funding to go forward, and killed American participation”. At the time of NASA’s withdrawal, Roger Bonnet encouraged his staff to press on, saying “Don't react with anger; react with vision.”
Bonnet's and ESA's vision and persistence delivered the technology that made humanity's first close-up encounter with Halley's Comet possible. The images and scientific data captured the imagination of scientists and the wider public alike. How ESA developed that technology under Bonnet's leadership, and in the face of numerous challenges, can now be traced through newly digitised archival records (ESA-7912, ESA-7913, ESA-7914) on the Giotto mission.
About the ESA holdings at the HAEU
The HAEU has hosted the historical archives of the ESA since the signature of a first deposit agreement between the ESA and European University Institute on 12 May 1989. The two organisations have signed further agreements, the most recent being in December 2020.
The ESA-related holdings comprise the European Preparatory Commission for Space Research (COPERS), the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO), the European Conference on Satellite Communications (CETS), the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), the European Space Conference (ESC), and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Featured image: Selected items from the Giotto Mission Children’s Drawings Collection, ESA.D-06, European Space Agency.