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67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

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Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 Credit: ESA — CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
COMET

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The first comet to be orbited and landed on by a spacecraft — ESA Rosetta + Philae.

Also known as: 67P, Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Orbits Sun
  • Rubber-duck-shaped bilobate nucleus ~4.1 u00d7 3.4 u00d7 1.3 km.
  • First comet ever orbited by a spacecraft (ESA Rosetta, 2014).
  • First comet ever landed on (ESA's Philae lander, 12 November 2014).
  • Mission confirmed comet-derived D/H ratio differs from Earth's oceans.

Physical Properties

2 km
1e13 kg
0.533 g/cm³
12.4043 h
0.06

Orbit

Sun
3.462 AU
0.64102
7.04°
1.243 AU
5.683 AU
6.44 yr

Sources & Further Reading

Numerical values (radius, mass, orbital elements, temperatures) are drawn from NASA NSSDC Planetary Fact Sheets, JPL Horizons, and the JPL Small-Body Database. Last refreshed: 2026-04-18 18:19:27.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was the target of the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission — the first spacecraft ever to orbit a comet, and the first to land on one. Rosetta rendezvoused with 67P in August 2014 and escorted it through perihelion in August 2015 before touching down on the comet on 30 September 2016. Rosetta’s Philae lander, released on 12 November 2014, became the first spacecraft to soft-land on a cometary nucleus. The distinctive bilobate “rubber-duck” shape of 67P is likely the result of a gentle collision between two smaller comets early in the Solar System’s history.