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.

About 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

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.

Physical Properties

Mean radius2 km

Mass1e13 kg

Density0.533 g/cm³

Rotation period12.4043 h

Bond albedo0.06

Orbit

OrbitsSun

Semi-major axis3.462 AU

Eccentricity0.64102

Inclination7.04°

Perihelion1.243 AU

Aphelion5.683 AU

Orbital period6.44 yr

Gallery

Hand-picked mission imagery of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko sourced from NASA and partner archives. Click any photo for full resolution and source attribution.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a NAVCAM mosaic from ESA's Rosetta (Nov. 2014). ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM · ESA u2014 CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Approach triptych of comet 67P, from Rosetta's OSIRIS camera (July 2014). — Approach triptych of comet 67P, from Rosetta's OSIRIS… ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team

Imagery on this page is provided by the original mission teams. Full attribution terms: Image Rights & Credits.

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: 2026-06-08 01:37:02.