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Nature 418, 806 (22 August 2002) | doi:10.1038/418806a

Comet mission collapses as craft disappears

Tony Reichhardt

Comet research in the United States is facing an uncertain future after mission managers all but gave up hope of salvaging the CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour) spacecraft. The craft went silent on 15 August as it fired an onboard rocket to leave Earth orbit.