How do the probes, orbiters and flybys take pictures and samples?
Each mission one has different engineering. The pictures are digital ones, sent by telemetry (radio), and there can be cameras with sensitivity in different wavelengths. For instance, the weird hexagon on Saturn picture was taken by Cassini in infrared. Sample collection can be vary a lot, depending on the kind of sample. The Mars rovers have little grinders and drills. The Stardust mission sample collection is interesting: in this case, dust grains are embedded in a material called aerogel.
