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) | NASA United States / 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.[3] | Delta 2914 | ||
| Vega 1 (5VK No.901) | Soviet Union | 1P/Halley | Flyby | Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach at 07:20:06 UTC on 6 March 1986.[4] | Proton-K/D-1 | ||
| Vega 2 (5VK No.902) | Soviet Union | 1P/Halley | Flyby | Flew past Halley after visiting Venus; closest approach at 07:20 UTC on 9 March 1986.[5] | Proton-K/D-1 | ||
| Sakigake (MS-T5) | ISAS Japan | 1P/Halley | Flyby | Closest approach of 6.99 million kilometres (4.34 million miles) at 04:18 UTC on 11 March 1986.[6] | Mu-3S-II | ||
| Giotto | ESA | 1P/Halley | Flyby | Closest approach of at 00:03:02 UTC on 14 March 1986.[7] | Ariane 1 | ||
| 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup | Flyby | Extended mission. Closest approach of at 15:30 UTC on 10 July 1992. | |||||
| Suisei (PLANET-A) | ISAS Japan | 1P/Halley | Flyby | Closest approach of at 13:06 UTC on 8 March 1986[8] | Mu-3S-II | ||
| 21P/Giacobini–Zinner | Flyby | Extended mission, spacecraft ran out of fuel en route; flyby had been scheduled for 24 November 1998 | |||||
| Deep Space 1 | NASA United States | Flyby | 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] | Delta II 7326 | |||
| 19P/Borrelly | Flyby | Extended mission | |||||
| Stardust (Discovery 4) | NASA United States | 81P/Wild | Flyby | Delta II 7426 | |||
| Sample return | |||||||
| 9P/Tempel | Flyby | Extended mission, Stardust-NExT, to survey crater caused by Deep Impact | |||||
| CONTOUR (Discovery 6) | NASA United States | 2P/Encke | Flyby | Delta II 7425 | |||
| Flyby | |||||||
| 6P/d'Arrest | Flyby | Flyby provisionally scheduled at time of spacecraft's failure | |||||
| Rosetta | ESA | 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko | Orbiter | 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 | ESA / DLR Germany | 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko | Lander | 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.[10] [11] | Ariane 5G+ | ||
| Deep Impact (Discovery 7) | NASA United States | 9P/Tempel | Flyby | Delta II 7925 | |||
| Impactor | Impact occurred at 05:52 UTC on 4 July 2005. | ||||||
| 103P/Hartley | Flyby | Extended mission (EPOXI) |