Add to NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Feb. 15, 2000
Media Advisory m00-028a

ALL TIMES EASTERN


NASA BEGINS BUILDING NEXT MISSION TO STUDY COMETS

     NASA's Comet Nucleus Tour, or CONTOUR mission, is closer to 
its launch when the project received approval to begin building 
the spacecraft.  Planned for a July 2002 launch, CONTOUR is 
expected to encounter Comet Encke in November 2003 and Comet 
Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 in June 2006.  

     CONTOUR will fly past at least two comets and take high 
resolution images.  It will also collect and analyze gas and dust 
to reveal the comet's makeup, greatly improving our knowledge of 
key characteristics of comet nuclei and providing an assessment of 
their diversity.  CONTOUR also will clear up the many mysteries of 
how comets evolve as they approach the Sun and their ices begin to 
evaporate.  

For more information see: 
http://www.contour2002.org and http://discovery.nasa.gov

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Donald Savage 
(Phone 202/358-1547).

For full text, see:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-026.txt 


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Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

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