Proposed Mission Will Reach Halley's Comet by 2060
A new research concept details a 23-year trajectory to rendezvous with the comet using planetary gravity assists.
Updated on Sept. 19, 2026 in Space
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Researchers have proposed a mission concept for a 2060 rendezvous with Halley's Comet, utilizing a multi-stage trajectory with electric propulsion and gravity assists. The mission remains in the proposal stage, targeting a launch window in 2036 or 2037.
Why it matters
Unlike the high-speed flybys conducted in 1986, a rendezvous would allow for prolonged observation of the comet's nine-mile-long nucleus. This sustained presence is required to better understand the activity of the object before it reaches perihelion in 2061.
The plan relies on low-thrust electric propulsion and gravity assists from Jupiter and Saturn to overcome the comet's 162-degree orbital inclination. This trajectory is essential to match the comet's velocity, allowing the craft to transition from a flyby to a station-keeping orbit.
The players
European Space Agency
An intergovernmental space agency that participated in the 1986 Halley's Comet flyby with the Giotto probe.
Soviet Union
A former state whose space program conducted flyby missions to Halley's Comet during the 1986 research campaign.
The details
To reach the comet, the spacecraft would use electric propulsion—a system that accelerates ions to create thrust—to navigate from Earth to Jupiter. The trajectory requires a gravity assist—a maneuver that uses a planet's gravitational pull to alter the spacecraft's speed and direction—from both Jupiter and Saturn. By matching the comet's retrograde, or backward-moving, orbit, the spacecraft would be able to perform sustained, close-up study of the nucleus, which measures nine miles long and five miles wide.
Timeline
240 BC: The first confirmed sighting of Halley's Comet occurred.
March 13-14, 1986: The Giotto spacecraft passed 370 miles from the comet.
2036: The proposed launch window for the mission opens.
Aug 14, 2060: The proposed date for the comet rendezvous.
July 28, 2061: Halley's Comet reaches its next perihelion.
The Tech Race
The 1986 Halley's Comet flyby mission serves as the technical baseline for this proposed rendezvous. This new proposal marks a transition from transient flyby observation to sustained orbital analysis.
The mission is currently in the research-proposal stage with no announced hardware development or public funding commitments. If approved, the project would provide the first long-term data on the comet's surface activity during its approach to the Sun.
The takeaway
Future updates will depend on the formal mission proposal process and potential inclusion in long-term international space exploration roadmaps. Watch for upcoming feasibility studies or funding announcements regarding 2036 launch windows.
Further reading
For more on the latest developments in interstellar exploration, visit Space.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Forbes.
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