November 4, 1981 - Venera 14 - USSR Venus Flyby/Lander - 5,000 kg
Venera 14 landed on Venus on March 5, 1982. It returned black and white, and color panoramic views of the Venusian surface. It also conducted soil analysis using an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer. The sample was determined to be tholeiitic basalt similar to that found at mid-ocean ridges on the Earth.

June 2, 1983 - Venera 15 - USSR Venus Orbiter - 5,000 kg
Venera 15 arrived at Venus on October 10, 1983. Its high-resolution imaging system produced images at 1-2 kilometers in resolution. Venera 15 and 16 produced a map of the northern hemisphere from the pole to 30°N. They found several hot spots, possibly caused from volcanic activity.

June 7, 1983 - Venera 16 - USSR Venus Orbiter - 5,000 kg
Venera 16 arrived at Venus on October 14, 1983. Its high-resolution imaging system produced images at 1-2 kilometers in resolution. Venera 15 and 16 produced a map of the northern hemisphere from the pole to 30°N. They found several hot spots, possibly caused from volcanic activity.

December 15, 1984 - Vega 1 - USSR Venus/Comet Halley Flyby - 4,000 kg
Vega 1 flew past Venus on June 11, 1985 on its way for a flyby with comet Halley. It dropped off a Venera style lander and a balloon to investigate the Venusian middle cloud layer. The lander's soil experiment failed. The balloon floated in the atmosphere for about 48 hours at an altitude of 54 kilometers. Between Vega 1 and 2, downward gusts of 1 meter/second were encountered and wind velocities of up to 240 kilometers/hour. The Comet Halley flyby took place on March 6, 1986. The Vega 1 probe is now in a solar orbit.

December 21, 1984 - Vega 2 - USSR Venus/Comet Halley Probe - 4,000 kg
Vega 2 flew past Venus on June 15, 1985 on its way for a flyby with comet Halley. It dropped off a Venera style lander and a balloon to investigate the Venusian middle cloud layer. The lander's soil experiment sampled anorthosite-troctolite which is found in the lunar highlands but is rare on Earth. The balloon floated in the atmosphere for about 48 hours at an altitude of 54 kilometers. Between Vega 1 and 2, downward gusts of 1 meter/second were encountered and wind velocities of up to 240 kilometers/hour. The Comet Halley flyby took place on March 9, 1986. The Vega 2 probe is now in a solar orbit.

January 7, 1985 - Sakigake - Japan Comet Flyby - 141 kg
Comet Halley flyby took place on March 1, 1986.

July 2, 1985 - Giotto - Europe Comet Flyby - 512 kg Comet Halley flyby took place on March 13, 1986. After the Halley fly-by, Giotto was put into hibernation, and re-awoken in 1990. Using a close Earth flyby, its trajectory was changed to allow a close encounter with the Comet Grigg-Skjellerup on July 10th, 1992. The flyby distance was actually less than that at Halley (around 200 kilometers from the nucleus).

August 18, 1985 - February 1991 - Suisei - Japan Comet Flyby - 141 kg
Comet Halley flyby took place on March 8, 1986.