Surface of young Jupiter family Comet 81 P/Wild 2: view from the Stardust spacecraft

Images taken by the Stardust mission during its flyby of 81P/Wild 2 show the comet to be a 5-kilometer oblate body covered with remarkable topographic features, including unusual circular features that appear to be impact craters. The presence of high-angle slopes shows that the surface is cohesive and self-supporting. The comet does not appear to be a rubble pile, and its rounded shape is not directly consistent with the comet being a fragment of a larger body. The surface is active and yet it retains ancient terrain. Wild 2 appears to be in the early stages of its degradation phase as a small volatile-rich body in the inner solar system.
Jupiter family comets (JFCs) such as 81 P/Wild 2 typically range from the orbit of Jupiter to inner regions of the solar system. These subliming-disintegrating bodies have inner solar system [...]