The following tables list all minor planets and comets that have been visited by spacecraft.
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List of minor planets visited by spacecraft
Since the 1990s, a total of 13 minor planets – currently all of them are asteroids and dwarf planets – have been visited by space probes. Note that moons (not directly orbiting the Sun), comets and planets are not minor planets and thus are not included in the table below.
In addition to the listed objects, three asteroids have been imaged by spacecraft at distances too large to resolve features (over 100,000 km), and are hence not considered as "visited". Asteroid 132524 APL was imaged by New Horizons in 2006 at a distance of 101,867 km, 2685 Masursky by Cassini in 2000 at a distance of 1,600,000 km, and 307 Nike by Pioneer 10 in 1972 at a distance of 8,800,000 km. The Hubble Space Telescope, a spacecraft in Earth orbit, has imaged several large asteroids, including 2 Pallas and 3 Juno.
Spacecraft visited by comets
Comet C/2013 A1 passed close by Mars in October 2014, closer than the Moon is to Earth. As of early 2014 it was calculated to pass as close as 0.00087 AU (130,000 km; 81,000 mi). This was so close that the event was deemed dangerous to spacecraft in orbit around Mars. Spacecraft that were active at that time included 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, MAVEN, Mars Orbiter Mission, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in Mars orbit – and two on the surface – Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity.
List of minor planets targeted for spacecraft visitation
The following table lists minor planets that are planned to be visited by spacecraft (given diameters are estimates). Asteroids that come to close enough to Earth can sometimes be observed, such as 4769 Castalia. See List of asteroid close approaches to Earth.
List of minor planets formerly targeted for spacecraft visitation
Former targets (were at one time proposed as a target).