Mission record

CONTOUR

Also known as COmet Nucleus TOUR

NASA · Launched July 3, 2002

Failed · Failure

NASA's CONTOUR was built to study and compare the interiors of two to three comets. Contact with the spacecraft was lost after an engine burn.

Destinations: 2P/Encke Show 2P/Encke in the explorer
73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 Show 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 in the explorer
6P/d’Arrest Show 6P/d’Arrest in the explorer
Launch vehicle: Delta 7425-9.5
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Fla. / SLC-17A
Countries: United States
Mission types: Flyby

Chronology

Mission timeline

July 3, 2002, 06:47:41 UTC
Launch
Launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta 7425-9.5
Earth
August 15, 2002, 08:49 UTC
Loss of contact
CONTOUR was never heard from again after the apogee motor fired
Earth

Mission architecture

CONTOUR · Spacecraft · lost
Destinations: 2P/Encke, 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann-3, 6P/d’Arrest

Trajectory record

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through September 4, 2026

CONTOUR - NASA Science — NASAMission page · Supports: mission claims · destination/body context · event claims
Planet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context