Scientists are weighing up the possibility of intercepting an interstellar object hurtling towards our solar system at speed.
The mysterious intergalactic object is believed to have been travelling the vast emptiness of space for billions of years at speeds of over 130,000 miles per hour.
NASA
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The location of 3I/ATLAS when it reaches its closest point to our sun on October 30
Other intergalactic visitors sighted include Oumuamua in 2017 and the Borisov comet in 2019.
3I/ATLAS is set to reach its closest point to our sun on October 30, over 130,000 million miles away, before disappearing again.
However, some scientists have been discussing the possibility of sending a spacecraft to intercept the mysterious visitor before it vanishes from our solar system forever.
They hope that intercepting the fast-moving object could help unlock answers to not only its origins, but the galaxy’s formation too.
NASA
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An artist’s impression of what 3I/ATLAS may look like up close
Plans to use sensitive instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope to take a closer look at the object are underway.
However, scientists believe that the only way to understand what 3I/ATLAS is made up of is by using a spacecraft to intercept it.
Researchers from Michigan State University in the US calculated that such a craft would need to leave Earth on the day the object was spotted at speeds of 54,000 miles per hour to reach it in time.
Alternatively, the researchers suggested that space agencies should redirect crafts currently orbiting planets to reach 3I/ATLAS before it vanishes for good.
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NASA/HUBBLE
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An image of 3I/ATLAS was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in July
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has said: “3I/Atlas will pass within 54 million kilometres from Jupiter in mid-March 2026.
“[Nasa space probe] Juno is in orbit around Jupiter and was planned to end its mission in mid-September 2025.
“The instruments on Juno can all be used to probe the nature of 3I/ATLAS from a close distance, far better than any observatories on Earth.”
Loeb’s plan has been backed by US Republican Congresswoman, Anna Paulina Luna.
Luna sent a letter to Nasa’s new administrator, Sean Duffy, to request that the space agency consider the idea.
The letter reads: “It is recommended that NASA conduct a study to assess how much fuel is left in Juno’s engine, and I support an extension of the Juno mission at least until mid-March 2026 at a cost of about $15M per 6 months from the current expiration date of mid-September 2025.”
The consensus within the group of researchers is that 3I/ATLAS is a comet – however there has been speculation by some that the mysterious object may be of alien origin.
Loeb argued that the possibility should not be ruled out, pointing to how the entity does not have a visible tail and does not emit gas.
