Comet Interceptor
Comet Interceptor is a planned European mission designed to wait in space and then visit a pristine comet or interstellar object.
Comet Interceptor is a European Space Agency mission, with participation from Japan, planned to launch around 2029. Unlike previous comet missions, it will not have a target chosen before launch. Instead, it will wait at a stable point about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth until a suitable comet is discovered, then set off to intercept it.
The ideal target would be a comet arriving in the inner Solar System for the first time from the distant Oort Cloud, carrying material little changed since the planets formed. An interstellar object passing through the Solar System would be an even more exciting possibility if one came within reach.
The mission consists of a main spacecraft and two smaller probes that will fly past the comet on different paths, giving a three-dimensional view of its nucleus and surroundings. Studying a pristine comet would help connect cometary dust, micrometeorites and primitive meteorites.
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