On July 3, NASA launched a spacecraft that will provide the closest look yet at the core of comets. CONTOUR, which will visit at least two comets during its 4-year mission, is one of three craft that will soon be conducting close-up studies of these icy relics from the birth of the solar system. The craft is set to fly within 100 kilometers of its first target, Comet Encke, on Nov.
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