List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft

The following tables list all minor planets and comets that have been visited by robotic spacecraft.

List of minor planets visited by spacecraft

A total of 19 minor planets have been visited by space probes. Moons and planets are not minor planets and thus are not included in the table below.

Incidental flybys

In addition to the above listed objects, three asteroids have been imaged by spacecraft at distances too large to resolve features.

List of comets visited by spacecraft

Spacecraft visited by comets

Comet C/2013 A1 passed close by planet Mars in October 2014, closer than the Moon is to Earth. As of early 2014 it was calculated to pass as close as. This was so close that the event was deemed dangerous to spacecraft in orbit around Mars. Spacecraft that were active at that time included 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, MAVEN, Mars Orbiter Mission, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in Mars orbit – and two on the surface – Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity.

Future visits

Planned

;Legend

Proposals

The following table lists minor planets that are proposed to be visited by spacecraft missions that have not yet been approved.

Name	Diameter	Year of discovery	Spacecraft	Proposed dates	Notes
50000 Quaoar	1086	2002	Shensuo	Launch: 2024 Flyby: 2030s	A Voyager-like mission proposed to be launched in 2024 by the CNSA. A pair of probes would flyby Neptune, Quaoar, and one other KBO.
	2.6	2001	ASTER	Launch: 2025 Flyby: 2027	Brazilian Space Agency mission to triple near-Earth asteroid system of the Amor group
99942 Apophis	0.370	2004	Satis	Launch: 2028 Flyby: 2029	ESA CubeSat proposal

Past proposals

Failed or rerouted missions

Name	Diameter	Date of discovery	Spacecraft	Year	Notes
2P/Encke	4.8	17 1 1786	CONTOUR	1998	Spacecraft lost while leaving Earth orbit
2P/Encke	4.8	17 1 1786	NEAR	1998	Target changed before launch
4 Vesta	525	29 3 1807	NEAR	1998	Target changed before launch
6P/d'Arrest	3.2	28 6 1851	CONTOUR	2008	Spacecraft lost while leaving Earth orbit
7P/Pons–Winnecke	5.2	12 6 1819	Mariner 5	1969	Target changed to Venus before launch
21P/Giacobini–Zinner	2	20 12 1900	Suisei	1998	Extended mission, spacecraft ran out of fuel en route.
29 Amphitrite	204	1 3 1854	Galileo	1986	Target changed due to launch postponement
46P/Wirtanen	1.2	17 1 1948	Rosetta	2011	Initial target, was changed due to delay.
73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann	1.1	2 5 1930	CONTOUR	2006	Spacecraft lost while leaving Earth orbit
76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura	0.66		Deep Space 1	2000	Target changed due to launch postponement
85D/Boethin		4 1 1975	EPOXI	2007	Astronomers were unable to locate the comet, which is too faint to be observed.
	103	13 10 1874	Rosetta	2007	Target changed due to launch postponement
	151	3 6 1875	Dawn	2016	Abandoned target
	82.7	9 3 1882	JUICE	2029	Secondary target; abandoned to conserve fuel for primary Jupiter orbiter mission.
	35	23 10 1924	NEAR	1998	Target changed before launch
	5.1×1.8	14 9 1951	Clementine	1995	Mission failed before retargeting
	7.5–9.4	28 9 1935	NEAR	1998	Target changed before launch
	0.6	12 2 1936	Vega 2	1987	Secondary target; insufficient fuel
	12.4	9 7 1978	Rosetta	2007	Secondary target; changed for better trajectory
	9	29 3 1979	Rosetta	2007	Target in early mission planning, but not chosen
	2–5	6 2 1981	Deep Space 1	1998	Target changed due to launch postponement
	5.2	9 10 1980	Rosetta	2007	Target changed
	4	19 11 1949	NEAR	1998	Target changed before launch
	4	19 11 1949	Deep Space 1	2001	Secondary target; abandoned due to instrument failure
	~1	28 2 1982	NEAR	1997	Target changed before launch
	~1	28 2 1982	Hayabusa	2002	Target changed due to launch postponement
	5.5	2 8 1949	Rosetta	2007	Target changed due to launch postponement
(5604) 1992 FE	0.6	26 3 1992	OSIRIS-REx	2018	Secondary target abandoned in 2010 during early mission planning
(10302) 1989 ML	0.6	29 6 1989	Hayabusa	2002	Target changed due to launch postponement
(163249) 2002 GT	0.35–0.5	3 4 2002	EPOXI	2020	Communications with spacecraft lost
	0.66	17 11 2001	Hayabusa2	2023	Target proposed for extended mission but not selected.
	~0.8	29 2 2000	PROCYON	2016	Ion engine failure in heliocentric orbit
	0.005–0.012	6 11 1991	NEA Scout	2022	Target changed due to launch postponement
	0.03	5 1 2001	Hayabusa2	2029	Target proposed but not selected
	0.018	2020	NEA Scout	2023	Communications with spacecraft lost
	0.004–0.010	2022	Odin	2025	Communications with spacecraft lost
7968 Elst–Pizarro	3.8 ± 0.6	1979	Tianwen-2	2030 or 2032	Target changed due to launch postponement

Cancelled or not developed missions

Name	Diameter	Date of discovery	Spacecraft	Year	Notes
1 Ceres	939	1 January 1801	Ceres Polar Lander
1 Ceres	939	1 January 1801	Calathus
2 Pallas	512	28 3 1802	Athena	2024
4 Vesta	525	29 3 1807	AGORA	1990–1994
4 Vesta	525	29 3 1807	MAOSEP	1990s
4 Vesta	525	29 3 1807	Vesta	1994
21P/Giacobini–Zinner	2.0	20 12 1900	Comet Explorer	1979	Not selected
22P/Kopff	3.0	23 8 1906	CRAF	2001
26P/Grigg–Skjellerup	2.6	23 7 1906	Comet Explorer	1977	Not selected
29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann	65	1927	Centaurus	Launch: 2026 Flyby: 2030s	Not selected
46P/Wirtanen	1.2	17 1 1948	Comet Hopper	2022
50 Virginia	99.8	1857	MANTIS	Launch: 2020s Flyby: 2020s	A flyby proposal of 14 asteroids, the largest being 50 Virginia.
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko	4.1×3.3×1.8	20 9 1969	CAESAR	2024
67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko	4.1×3.3×1.8	20 9 1969	CONDOR	2024	Proposed comet sample-return mission.
88P/Howell	4.4	1981	CORSAIR	2024	Proposed comet sample-return mission.
		1898	Clementine 2	1996
	86	31 10 1899	CRAF	1998
2060 Chiron	271	1977	Centaurus	Launch: 2026 Flyby: 2030s	A flyby proposal
	4	19 11 1949	Marco Polo/''Hayabusa Mk2	2022
		1934	Clementine 2	1996
	~1	28 2 1982	NEAP	1997
7968 Elst–Pizarro or 133P/Elst–Pizarro	~0.6	24 7 1979	Castalia	2028
10199 Chariklo	260.35	1997	Camilla	Launch: 2026 Flyby: 2039	A mission concept for a flyby and impactor.
25143 Itokawa		1998	Asteroid Redirect Mission	2021
(35107) 1991 VH	1.04	9 11 1991	Janus	2026	Launch delayed, target not available
	272	1 10 1999	New Horizons 2
55637 Uni	~0.69	30 10 2002	New Horizons 2
(65679) 1989 UQ			Marco Polo	2018–2020
	163	8 9 1999	New Horizons 2
99942 Apophis	0.37	19 6 2004	Don Quijote	2015
101955 Bennu		1999	Asteroid Redirect Mission	2021
101955 Bennu		1999	HAMMER
	2376	18 2 1930	Pluto Kuiper Express	2004
162173 Ryugu	0.9	10 5 1999	Marco Polo	2018–2020
162173 Ryugu	0.9	10 5 1999	Asteroid Redirect Mission	2021
			Marco Polo	2018–2020
	1.69	24 3 1996	Janus	2026	Launch delayed, target not available
	1.7	24 3 1996	Marco Polo	2018–2020
	0.4	4 3 2008	Marco Polo	2018–2020
	0.4	4 3 2008	Asteroid Redirect Mission	2021
			Marco Polo	2018–2020
	0.086–0.16	20 9 2003	Don Quijote''	2015
Trojan asteroids		1906	OKEANOS	Launch: 2026	Proposed multiple flyby mission to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids using solar sail propulsion.