In a rather ambitious program, the Soviets launched Vega 2, December 21, 1984 to visit both Venus and Halley's Comet. The descent module separated from the flyby module June 13, 1985 and arrived at Venus two days later. The flyby probe continued on to rendezvous with Halley's Comet.
The descent module consisted of a lander and a balloon probe. The lander touched down in the Aphrodite Terra region and transmitted data for about 56 minutes before falling silent.
The balloon probe used a series of parachutes to reach an altitude of 53-54 kim in the middle layer of Venus' three-tiered atmosphere. It transmitted data for almost 2 days and drifted about 11,000 km before sending its last transmission. Who knows how far it kept drifting?
The flyby probe first encountered Halley's Comet March 7, 1986 and made its closest approach March 9. It took pictures during a three-hour window during the closest enounter and continued to take pictures March 10 and 11. Contact with Vega 2 last until March 24.
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