Missions to comets includes list of spacecraft 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 Carrier rocket Operator Destination Mission type Outcome 1 Explorer 59 ICE(ISEE-3) Delta 2914 NASA / ESA 21P/Giacobini–Zinner Flyby Extended mission; Closest approach of at 11:02 UTC on 11 September 1985. Also made distant observations of 1P/Halley in May 1986. 2 Vega 1 5VK No.901 Proton-K / D-1 Soviet Union 1P/Halley Flyby Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach at 07:20:06 UTC on 6 March 1986. 3 Vega 2 5VK No.902 Proton-K / D-1 Soviet Union 1P/Halley Flyby Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach at 07:20 UTC on 9 March 1986. 4 Sakigake MS-T5 Mu-3S-II ISAS 1P/Halley Flyby Closest approach of 6.99 million kilometres (4.34 million miles) at 04:18 UTC on 11 March 1986. 5 Giotto Giotto Ariane 1 ESA 1P/Halley Flyby 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup Closest approach of at 00:03:02 UTC on 14 March 1986. Extended mission to 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup. Closest approach of at 15:30 UTC on 10 July 1992. 6 Suisei Suisei(PLANET-A) Mu-3S-II ISAS 1P/Halley Flyby 21P/Giacobini–Zinner Closest approach of at 13:06 UTC on 8 March 1986 Extended mission to 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, spacecraft ran out of fuel en route; flyby had been scheduled for 24 November 1998. 7 Deep Space 1 Deep Space 1 Delta II 7326 NASA 107P/Wilson–Harrington Flyby 19P/Borrelly 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. Extended mission to 19P/Borrelly was successful. 8 Discovery 4 Stardust Delta II 7426 NASA 81P/Wild Flyby Sample return 9P/Tempel Flyby Extended mission to 9P/Tempel, Stardust-NExT, to survey crater caused by Deep Impact. 9 Discovery 6 CONTOUR Delta II 7425 NASA 2P/Encke Flyby 6P/d'Arrest Flyby to 6P/d'Arrest was provisionally scheduled at time of spacecraft's failure. 10 Cornerstone 3 Rosetta Ariane 5G+ ESA / DLE 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Orbiter Philae Lander 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. 11 Discovery 7 Deep Impact Delta II 7925 NASA 9P/Tempel Flyby Impactor 103P/Hartley Flyby Impact occurred at 05:52 UTC on 4 July 2005. Extended mission (EPOXI). 12 Tianwen-2 Tianwen-2 Long March 3B CNSA 311P/PanSTARRS Orbiter Scheduled for arrival in 2035.
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
See also List of missions to minor planets (includes asteroids) List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft Timeline of Solar System exploration List of missions to Venus List of missions to the Moon List of missions to Mars List of missions to minor planets List of extraterrestrial orbiters
References