Font Size: Welcome to the Camarillo Airport. The Camarillo Airport (CMA), as it is known today, was the former Oxnard Air Force Base. The base was established in the early 1950âs for coastal defense and a variety of military aircraft operated here until 1969 when the base was deactivated.
5. Atmospheric Probes: These space probes remain in, or transit through the atmosphere of the planet or moon and study weather patterns and atmospheric peculiarities until its end. The Huygens probe to Titan acted as an atmospheric probe and then a lander once it was on the surface of Saturn's moon.
Artist's concept of Mariner 9, the first probe to orbit Mars. Image credit: NASA We received this question from fourth-grade students in Fresno, California. JPL's Homework Help page provides basic information and suggestions for further research. A probe is a spacecraft that travels through space to collect science information. Probes do not have astronauts. Probes send data back to Earth for scientists to study. The First Probes Sputnik 1 was the first probe to go into space. It was launched on Oct. 4, 1957, by the former Soviet Union. On Jan. 31, 1958, the United States sent a probe called Explorer 1 into space. These first probes studied Earth from space. They also learned what it's like to be in space. This was the beginning of the Space Race between the United States and Soviet Union.