space probe

noun

: a device that is used to obtain information from outer space and send it back to Earth

Examples of space probe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The device, which might be a large, heavy space probe, would fly alongside the near-Earth object for an extended period (years to decades) and slowly drag it away from its collision course. Govert Schilling, Scientific American, 27 June 2026 But the most dramatic and astonishing discovery from the Cassini mission came after data from the space probe revealed surprising details about Saturn’s moons, Titan and Enceladus. Literary Hub, 22 May 2026 Los Alamos and Colorado State University researchers reported finding identifiable acoustic signals in fiber cables when the NASA OSIRIS-REx space probe returned to Earth to deliver its capsule of asteroid samples in September 2023. IEEE Spectrum, 22 Dec. 2025 Rushing to catch up, the first US space probe — Explorer 1 — was launched in February of 1958. Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025 The sample’s chemical make up was compared with Martian meteorites that were discovered in 1967, when the Viking space probe landed on Mars. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Space probe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/space%20probe. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster