CONTOUR
Videos
The Comet Nucleus Tour was a NASA Discovery-class space probe that failed shortly after its July 2002 launch. It was the only Discovery mission to fail.
Artist impression of CONTOUR approaching a comet.
The CONTOUR spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center in May 2002, being prepared for launch.
Long-exposure photograph of the launch of CONTOUR from Cape Canaveral on July 3, 2002.
Pluto in True Color High Res
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
Videos
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 or SW3 for short, is a periodic comet that has a 5.4 year orbital period and that has been actively disintegrating since 1995. When it ca
CONTOUR
…probe that failed shortly after its July 2002 launch. It was the only Discovery mission to fail. The two comets scheduled to be visited were Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann-3, and the third target was d'Arrest. It was hoped that a new comet would have been discovered in the inner Solar System between 2006 and 2008, in which…
Disrupted comet Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 (as seen from Mt Laguna on April 19, 2006)
The B, G and R components of 73P, and Tau Coronae Borealis, May 1, 2006
The C component of 73P, and the Ring Nebula, May 8, 2006
Image taken by Andrew Catsaitis of components B and C of Comet 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 as seen together on 31 May 2006