Astronomy:List of missions to comets

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As of 2024, the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the European Space Agency have conducted missions to comets.

List of missions

Spacecraft Launch date[1] Operator Comet Mission Outcome Remarks Carrier rocket[2]
ICE
(ISEE-3) 		12 August 1978 NASA
United States / ESA 		21P/Giacobini–Zinner Flyby Successful Extended mission; Closest approach of 7,862 kilometres (4,885 mi) at 11:02 UTC on 11 September 1985. Also made distant observations of 1P/Halley in May 1986.[3] Delta 2914
Vega 1
(5VK No.901) 		15 December 1984 Soviet Union 1P/Halley Flyby Successful Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach 8,889 kilometres (5,523 mi) at 07:20:06 UTC on 6 March 1986.[4] Proton-K/D-1
Vega 2
(5VK No.902) 		21 December 1984 Soviet Union 1P/Halley Flyby Successful Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach at 07:20 UTC on 9 March 1986.[5] Proton-K/D-1
Sakigake
(MS-T5) 		7 January 1985 ISAS
Japan 		1P/Halley Flyby Successful Closest approach of 6.99 million kilometres (4.34 million miles) at 04:18 UTC on 11 March 1986.[6] Mu-3S-II
Giotto 2 July 1985 ESA 1P/Halley Flyby Successful Closest approach of 605 kilometres (376 mi) at 00:03:02 UTC on 14 March 1986.[7] Ariane 1
26P/Grigg–Skjellerup Flyby Successful Extended mission. Closest approach of 200 kilometres (120 mi) at 15:30 UTC on 10 July 1992.[7]
Suisei
(PLANET-A) 		19 August 1985 ISAS
Japan 		1P/Halley Flyby Successful Closest approach of 152,400 kilometres (94,700 mi) at 13:06 UTC on 8 March 1986[8] Mu-3S-II
21P/Giacobini–Zinner Flyby Spacecraft failure
(Extended mission) 		Extended mission, spacecraft ran out of fuel en route; flyby had been scheduled for 24 November 1998[8]
Deep Space 1 24 October 1998 NASA
United States 		107P/Wilson–Harrington[9] Flyby Spacecraft failure Spacecraft was unable to reach Wilson–Harrington due to ion engine operation being suspended while a problem with the probe's star tracker was investigated.[10] Delta II 7326
19P/Borrelly Flyby Successful Extended mission
Stardust
(Discovery 4) 		7 February 1999 NASA
United States 		81P/Wild Flyby Successful Delta II 7426
Sample return Successful
9P/Tempel Flyby Successful Extended mission, Stardust-NExT, to survey crater caused by Deep Impact
CONTOUR
(Discovery 6) 		3 July 2002 NASA
United States 		2P/Encke Flyby Spacecraft failure Delta II 7425
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann Flyby Spacecraft failure
6P/d'Arrest Flyby Spacecraft failure Flyby provisionally scheduled at time of spacecraft's failure
Rosetta 2 March 2004 ESA 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Orbiter Successful Entered orbit around 67P at 09:06 UTC on 6 August 2014. On 30 September 2016 mission ended in an attempt to slow land on the comet's surface near a 130 m (425 ft) wide pit called Deir el-Medina. Ariane 5G+
Philae 2 March 2004 ESA / DLR
Germany 		67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Lander Successful Carried by Rosetta. Came to rest on the surface of 67P at 17:32 UTC on 12 November 2014. Communications ceased with the loss of battery power at 00:36 UTC on 15 November 2014 and the lander began hibernating. Reactivated on solar power and briefly established contact with ground control again at 20:28 UTC on 13 June 2015, and sporadically until 9 July 2015 when the last communication was received.[11][12] Ariane 5G+
Deep Impact
(Discovery 7) 		12 January 2005 NASA
United States 		9P/Tempel Flyby Successful Delta II 7925
Impactor Successful Impact occurred at 05:52 UTC on 4 July 2005.
103P/Hartley Flyby Successful Extended mission (EPOXI)
Tianwen-2 28 May 2025 CNSA
China 		311P/PanSTARRS Orbiter En route Scheduled for arrival in 2035[13] Long March 3B

See also

References

  1. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt. 
  2. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Interplanetary Probes". Gunter's Space Page. http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sat/ip_probe.htm. 
  3. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - ISEE-3/ICE". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=ISEEICE&Display=ReadMore. 
  4. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Vega 1". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=Vega_01&Display=ReadMore. 
  5. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Vega 2". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=Vega_02&Display=ReadMore. 
  6. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Sakigake". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=Sakigake&Display=ReadMore. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Solar System Exploration - Giotto". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=Giotto&Display=ReadMore. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Solar System Exploration - Suisei". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=Suisei&Display=ReadMore. 
  9. ↑ Wilson-Harrington is catalogued as both a comet and an asteroid
  10. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Deep Space 1". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?Sort=Target&Target=Comets&MCode=DS1&Display=ReadMore. 
  11. ↑ "Rosetta's lander Philae wakes up from hibernation". European Space Agency, Rosetta Blog. 14 June 2015. http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/06/14/rosettas-lander-philae-wakes-up-from-hibernation/. 
  12. ↑ Baldwin, Emily (20 July 2015). "Rosetta and Philae status update". European Space Agency. http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2015/07/20/rosetta-and-philae-status-update/. 
  13. ↑ "@AJ_FI" (in en). X. 2025-04-11. https://x.com/AJ_FI/status/1910650371346780181. 



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