Space probe

From TARDIS Index File, the free Doctor Who reference.

A space probe is either a robotic space exploration device launched by spacecraft or a spacecraft with robotic attachments. Some space probes have autonomic capacities (i.e. they can control their own behavior), while others depend entirely on control from the sender.

Humans began sending space probes out from Earth as early as the 1950s (DW: Delta and the Bannermen) and would continue to do so into the 21st century (DW: The Christmas Invasion)