List of missions to comets

Missions to comets includes list of spacecrafts that were launched to study comets. As of 2026, there have been twelve missions from United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, the European Space Agency and China.

List of missions

Mission Spacecraft Launch date[1] Carrier rocket[2] Operator Destination Mission type Outcome
1 Explorer 59 ICE
(ISEE-3) 		12 August 1978 Delta 2914 NASA / ESA 21P/Giacobini–Zinner Flyby Success
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]
2 Vega 1 5VK No.901 15 December 1984 Proton-K / D-1 Soviet Union 1P/Halley Flyby Success
Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach 8,889 kilometres (5,523 mi) at 07:20:06 UTC on 6 March 1986.[4]
3 Vega 2 5VK No.902 21 December 1984 Proton-K / D-1 Soviet Union 1P/Halley Flyby Success
Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach at 07:20 UTC on 9 March 1986.[5]
4 Sakigake MS-T5 7 January 1985 Mu-3S-II ISAS 1P/Halley Flyby Success
Closest approach of 6.99 million kilometres (4.34 million miles) at 04:18 UTC on 11 March 1986.[6]
5 Giotto Giotto 2 July 1985 Ariane 1 ESA 1P/Halley Flyby Success
26P/Grigg–Skjellerup Success
Closest approach of 605 kilometres (376 mi) at 00:03:02 UTC on 14 March 1986.[7] Extended mission to 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup. Closest approach of 200 kilometres (120 mi) at 15:30 UTC on 10 July 1992.[7]
6 Suisei Suisei
(PLANET-A) 		19 August 1985 Mu-3S-II ISAS 1P/Halley Flyby Success
21P/Giacobini–Zinner Failure
Closest approach of 152,400 kilometres (94,700 mi) at 13:06 UTC on 8 March 1986[8] Extended mission to 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, spacecraft ran out of fuel en route; flyby had been scheduled for 24 November 1998.[8]
7 Deep Space 1 Deep Space 1 24 October 1998 Delta II 7326 NASA 107P/Wilson–Harrington[a] Flyby Failure
19P/Borrelly Success
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.[9] Extended mission to 19P/Borrelly was successful.
8 Discovery 4 Stardust 7 February 1999 Delta II 7426 NASA 81P/Wild Flyby Success
Sample return Success
9P/Tempel Flyby Success
Extended mission to 9P/Tempel, Stardust-NExT, to survey crater caused by Deep Impact.
9 Discovery 6 CONTOUR 3 July 2002 Delta II 7425 NASA 2P/Encke Flyby Spacecraft failure
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann Spacecraft failure
6P/d'Arrest Spacecraft failure
Flyby to 6P/d'Arrest was provisionally scheduled at time of spacecraft's failure.
10 Cornerstone 3 Rosetta 2 March 2004 Ariane 5G+ ESA / DLE 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Orbiter Success
Philae Lander Success
Rosetta 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. Philae 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.[10][11]
11 Discovery 7 Deep Impact 12 January 2005 Delta II 7925 NASA 9P/Tempel Flyby Success
Impactor Success
103P/Hartley Flyby Success
Impact occurred at 05:52 UTC on 4 July 2005. Extended mission (EPOXI).
12 Tianwen-2 Tianwen-2 28 May 2025 Long March 3B CNSA 311P/PanSTARRS Orbiter Enroute
Scheduled for arrival in 2035.[12]

Statistics

† First to achieve ‡ Joint first to achieve

Asteroid belt
Country/Agency Flyby Orbit Impact Lander Sample return
United States ICE, (21P/Giacobini–Zinner) 1978 ‡ — Deep Impact, (Tempel 1) 2005 † — Stardust, (81P/Wild) 2006 †
ESA ICE, (21P/Giacobini–Zinner) 1978 ‡ Rosetta, (67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko) 2014 † — Philae, (67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko) 2014 † —
Soviet Union Vega 1, (1P/Halley) 1986 — — — —
Japan Sakigake, (1P/Halley) 1986 — — — —

Notes

  1. ^ Wilson-Harrington is catalogued as both a comet and an asteroid.

See also

References

  1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  2. ^ Krebs, Gunter. "Interplanetary Probes". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Solar System Exploration - ISEE-3/ICE". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Solar System Exploration - Vega 1". NASA. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Solar System Exploration - Vega 2". NASA. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Solar System Exploration - Sakigake". NASA. Archived from the original on 18 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Solar System Exploration - Giotto". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Solar System Exploration - Suisei". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Solar System Exploration - Deep Space 1". NASA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Rosetta's lander Philae wakes up from hibernation". European Space Agency, Rosetta Blog. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  11. ^ Baldwin, Emily (20 July 2015). "Rosetta and Philae status update". European Space Agency. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  12. ^ "@AJ_FI". X. 11 April 2025.
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