"Rosetta Orbiter Upgraded with Bullet-Proof 'Vest' for Comet Mission"

The Rosetta spacecraft, which orbited a comet in 2014, had its outer casing removed to save weight, leaving a propellant tank exposed. To protect it, engineers designed a bullet-proof "vest" using Kevlar-like material. The spacecraft used Earth and Mars' gravitational pull to accelerate and reached the comet in 2014, releasing a probe that landed on its surface. Despite some challenges, including the probe bouncing on landing and running out of power, the mission provided valuable data before Rosetta made a controlled crash onto the comet in 2016.