CONTOUR stands for Comet Nucleus Tour.
Mission controllers were able to track pieces of CONTOUR (right) after the spacecraft broke up.
CONTOUR was to study comets Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3.
CONTOUR's breakup was confirmed in images such as the one on the right.
CONTOUR was intended to make close studies of two comets with the possibility of a visiting a third comet.
One of the targeted comets -- Encke -- has been observed at more apparitions--57--than any other comet including Halley.
This mission was part of NASA's Discovery program of lower-cost, highly focused planetary science investigations.
