Space Exploration & Comet Research - A comet, traveling at 25,000 kilometers per hour, is approaching the solar system and will be targeted by the Comet Interceptor mission [1][3] - The Comet Interceptor mission, funded by the European Space Agency in collaboration with the Japanese Space Agency, aims to study a comet coming close to the sun for the first time [3][24] - Comets are believed to have delivered organics and water to Earth, crucial for the formation of life, but also pose a threat of impacts [12][13][14] - Missions to processed comets have limitations, necessitating a mission to an unchanged comet from the Oort cloud, which contains hundreds of billions or even trillions of comets [23][24][25] - The Comet Interceptor mission will park in a stable orbit, wait for a suitable comet, and then intercept it for a few hours to collect data [29][30][31][32] Planetary Defense & Space Mission Strategy - The mission aims to test the strategy of parking in space until a target is identified, which could be used for planetary defense against hazardous objects [33][34] - Developing instruments for space exploration is a time-consuming task, requiring years or even decades of rigorous testing [27] Scientific Significance - Asteroids and comets are relics from the early solar system, with asteroids forming closer to the sun and comets forming in the outer solar system [7] - Studying comets can provide insights into the materials from the outer solar system, where ice is preserved [22]