The mission

ESA’s Comet Interceptor will be the first mission to visit a comet coming directly from the outer reaches of the Sun's realm, carrying material untouched since the dawn of the Solar System.

After launch, the spacecraft will be 'parked' in space before moving to intercept a suitable pristine comet. When the comet is near, the main spacecraft will release two probes to observe the comet from multiple directions at the same time.

Comet Interceptor is an ESA-led mission in collaboration with JAXA.

The launch

Launch period: Late 2028 or early 2029
Launch location: Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana
Destination: pristine comet or interstellar object

3 spacecraft

10 instruments

3 D map of a comet

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Explore

[ Planetary Defence ]

ARKIVERT INNHOLD: 03 JUL. 2025

ESA tracks rare interstellar comet

Editor's note: This is the original ESA news article published shortly after the discovery of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in July 2025. For the latest updates and ESA observations of the comet, click here.Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of a rare celestial visitor: a comet from beyond our Solar System.Officially named 3I/ATLAS, this newly identified interstellar object is only the third of its kind ever observed, following the famous 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

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[ Comet Interceptor ]

ARKIVERT INNHOLD: 15 DES. 2022

Comet Interceptor construction moves forward

ESA and OHB have signed a contract to move forward with the design and construction of ESA’s ambitious Comet Interceptor spacecraft, planned for launch in 2029.

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[ Planetary Defence ]

ARKIVERT INNHOLD: 26 MAR. 2024

‘Mother of Dragons’ comet visible in the night sky

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is visible in the night sky for observers in the northern hemisphere, offering a rare chance for professional and amateur astronomers to catch a glimpse of an object ...

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[ Comet Interceptor ]

ARKIVERT INNHOLD: 17 APR. 2024

Estonia pioneers instrument for Comet Interceptor mission through Prodex

An ESA programme called Prodex has enabled Estonian researchers and industry to join an international mission to intercept and examine a comet entering the inner Solar System for the first time.

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Nyeste bilder

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[ Science ]

13 MAI. 2026

DFP-A instruments for the Comet Interceptor mission

The DFP-A instruments built for the Comet Interceptor mission

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[ Science ]

03 JUL. 2025

ESA observes interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

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[ Science ]

18 NOV. 2024

Comet Interceptor’s probe proves structurally sound

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[ Science ]

15 OKT. 2024

Comet Interceptor’s journey

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Nyeste videoer

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[ Science ]

29 FEB. 2024

Comet Interceptor spacecraft

Spill

[ Science ]

06 JUN. 2024

Comet Interceptor’s boom gets shaken, not stirred

Spill

In essence, all comets are clumps of ice and dust. When they fly close to the Sun, they heat up and spew out gases and dust, enveloping the solid nucleus in a large hazy cloud called a coma and often producing one or more lengthy tails. We classify different types of comets based on their flight path through space.

[ Comet Interceptor ]

[ Science ]

How are comets named?

You might have heard of a few comets by name, such as Comet Halley or Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. But by now we have discovered and named thousands of comets. How are their names chosen, and how do astronomers keep track of them all?

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Relaterte lenker

[ Comet Interceptor ]

14 MAR. 2022

Comet Interceptor factsheet

Overview of the Comet Interceptor mission

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[ Comet Interceptor ]

01 MAR. 2024

Comets: from suspicion to science

Comets were historically considered heavenly messengers or harbingers of doom. Our views of comets may have changed over time, but we continue to be mesmerised.

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[ Comet Interceptor ]

01 MAR. 2024

Building on Giotto and Rosetta

Comet Interceptor follows in the footsteps of earlier comet missions, including the ESA missions Giotto and Rosetta, which revolutionised cometary science. Giotto provided the first good resolution images of a comet’s nucleus, while Rosetta was the first mission to monitor the changing activity of a cometary nucleus before and after flying by the Sun.

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Comet Interceptor

The mission

The launch