CONTOUR
CONTOUR was a NASA Discovery mission designed to compare the nuclei, comas, gas, and dust of multiple short-period comets during close flybys. Its primary plan targeted comets Encke and Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, with d'Arrest considered for an extended mission.
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Identity
- Aliases
- COmet Nucleus TOURComet Nucleus Tour
- Name
- CONTOUR
- Slug
- contour
- Status
- failed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- CONTOUR was a NASA Discovery mission designed to compare the nuclei, comas, gas, and dust of multiple short-period comets during close flybys. Its primary plan targeted comets Encke and Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, with d'Arrest considered for an extended mission.
- End Date
- 2002-08-15
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- The spacecraft reached its planned high-apogee Earth orbit, but contact was lost during the solid-motor burn intended to begin its heliocentric cruise. Subsequent observations showed that CONTOUR had broken apart, and no comet encounters occurred.
- Program
- Discovery Program
- Start Date
- 2002-07-03
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/contour/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 18, 2026 at 14:27:53 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 18, 2026 at 14:27:53 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles