Planetary Science

Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR)

CONTOUR was lost before returning science, so no publication search was run; it counts as zero in the comparisons.

Flyby · Competed · PI-led · Launched on July 3, 2002 · Failure · LCC: $158M/$297M (2025 $)Life-cycle cost: NASA’s reported cost to build, launch, and operate a mission through its prime mission, plus documented partner contributions, in 2025 dollars. Extended missions are not included. Methods · Wikipedia

Scope Active Mission WindowActivePapers published from the first full month after science operations begin through two years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. For CONTOUR, papers published August 1, 2002 to September 1, 2004. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. Methods