Hi Jean, great question! The big difference is between explore and probe is what you are investigating. People explore places like a city, country, ocean, a mine, or another planet. Tools like medical instruments, cameras, sensors, or robots usually probe things. For example, a doctor would use medical device to probe a patient's tumor. More simply put: people explore and tools are used to probe. More often than not, you explore a place and you probe an object. This can be very tricky because it is correct to say: "The scientist used an underwater robot to explore the bottom of the ocean". In this example, a tool that is investigating, however it is the scientist who is exploring. I would like to stress that my answer is not perfect, but it is useful.

There is quite a difference in their usage. I would explore the woods near me, but I wouldn't probe them! I use explore a lot but probe not a lot. Explore is less invasive whilst probe has a feeling of invasion, intrusion, being uncomfortable. A level of seriousness. Explore can be fun and relaxing. When it comes to questions and answers, you might explore a topic and delve into someone's answers to find out more. A psychiatrist might explore your answers with you to find hidden meaning. However if you were the police questioning a thief, you would probe them for an answer, meaning to force them or question thoroughly. Hope this makes sense