List of missions to comets
Appearance
(Redirected from Exploration of comets)
As of 2024, the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the European Space Agency have conducted missions to comets.
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) |
See also
[edit]- List of missions to minor planets (includes asteroids)
- List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft
References
[edit]- ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Interplanetary Probes". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ^ "Solar System Exploration - ISEE-3/ICE". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Solar System Exploration - Vega 1". NASA. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Solar System Exploration - Vega 2". NASA. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Solar System Exploration - Sakigake". NASA. Archived from the original on 18 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Solar System Exploration - Giotto". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Solar System Exploration - Suisei". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ Wilson-Harrington is catalogued as both a comet and an asteroid
- ^ "Solar System Exploration - Deep Space 1". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Rosetta's lander Philae wakes up from hibernation". European Space Agency, Rosetta Blog. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Baldwin, Emily (20 July 2015). "Rosetta and Philae status update". European Space Agency. Retrieved 11 August 2015.