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Three confirmed objects from beyond our Solar System have passed through it. NASA and other researchers observed the latest, comet 3I/ATLAS, with telescopes and spacecraft already in operation—but NASA did not launch a craft to chase it. The real pursuit is still a future possibility: mission concepts and studies are exploring how a spacecraft might intercept an interstellar visitor before it escapes.
What are the “strange objects”?
They are interstellar objects, or ISOs: natural bodies that formed around other stars, were later ejected into interstellar space, and are now passing through our Solar System. Gravitational encounters with planets, stellar encounters, or collisions can eject small bodies from their original systems.
“Interstellar” describes where an object came from, not what made it. The term does not mean artificial, extraterrestrial spacecraft, or evidence of life. These visitors are distinct from ordinary asteroids and comets bound to the Sun, as well as from human-made space debris.
How can astronomers tell an object came from another star?
Astronomers calculate an object’s orbit from repeated observations. Most Solar System bodies follow closed, elliptical orbits: they remain gravitationally bound to the Sun and can return. An interstellar visitor follows a strongly hyperbolic path, entering and leaving the Solar System rather than settling into a permanent solar orbit.
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For 3I/ATLAS, preliminary orbital characterization reported an eccentricity of about 6.1 and an incoming hyperbolic excess velocity of about 58 kilometers per second. Those values describe an unbound trajectory; they establish an interstellar origin, not an artificial one. The [original orbital characterization](https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.02757) and a [NASA-hosted interception feasibility study](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20250011638/downloads/MandtFeasibilitySTI.pdf) discuss the orbit and its implications.
The three confirmed interstellar visitors
| Object | What is known |
|---|---|
| 1I/ʻOumuamua | Discovered in 2017, it was the first recognized interstellar object. Observations found no obvious cometary coma, and its shape, reflectivity, and slight non-gravitational acceleration prompted competing explanations. The available evidence does not establish that it was artificial. |
| 2I/Borisov | Discovered in 2019, it showed clear cometary activity. It provided a useful comparison between a comet from another planetary system and comets in our own. |
| 3I/ATLAS | First reported on July 1, 2025, by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Observations showed an icy nucleus surrounded by a coma of gas and dust, so it was classified as a comet. It is the third confirmed macroscopic interstellar object. |
NASA’s [3I/ATLAS overview](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/) and [facts and FAQs](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/3i-atlas-facts-and-faqs/) provide the agency’s current summary of the visitor.
What 3I/ATLAS did—and did not do
3I/ATLAS reached perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, around October 29–30, 2025, at roughly 1.4 astronomical units. It came no closer than about 1.8 astronomical units—approximately 270 million kilometers, or 170 million miles—from Earth. NASA said it posed no threat. By August 2026, it had passed through the inner Solar System and was on its way out.
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NASA’s estimates put the nucleus diameter somewhere between about 440 meters and 5.6 kilometers. That broad range reflects a measurement challenge: the active coma makes the solid nucleus difficult to isolate and measure directly. The comet was moving about 221,000 kilometers per hour when discovered and reached about 246,000 kilometers per hour near the Sun, according to NASA’s [3I/ATLAS facts and FAQs](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-atlas/3i-atlas-facts-and-faqs/).
Observations also yielded clues about its material. NASA reported that JWST observations found a carbon-dioxide-dominated coma. That unusual chemistry can help scientists investigate the comet’s formation and thermal history, but it does not by itself identify the star system it came from. Small uncertainties in an object’s incoming trajectory grow when traced far back through time, making a confident identification of its parent star generally elusive. NASA’s [Webb summary](https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-finds-clues-to-ancient-distant-origin-of-comet-3i-atlas/) describes the chemical findings and what they may reveal.
NASA observed 3I/ATLAS; it did not chase it
The response was observation and data coordination, not a dedicated interception mission. NASA-funded ATLAS reported the discovery, and existing NASA telescopes and spacecraft gathered observations as the comet crossed their fields of view or came within observing range. NASA says more than a dozen of its science missions observed the object; the collected observations are described in its [open-data overview](https://science.nasa.gov/open-science/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-data/).
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- Hubble imaged the comet and helped constrain the possible size of its nucleus.
- TESS observed it during a special run from January 15–22, 2026. NASA reported the observations in its [TESS update](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/3iatlas/2026/01/27/nasas-tess-reobserves-comet-3i-atlas/).
- SPHEREx made infrared observations of the comet’s post-perihelion brightening; NASA reported them in its [mission update](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/spherex/2026/02/04/nasas-spherex-mission-tracks-brightening-of-interstellar-comet/).
- PUNCH collected observations in its solar-corona and heliosphere science program.
- Psyche tracked the comet on September 8–9, 2025, from roughly 53 million kilometers away. NASA’s [Psyche report](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/psyche/2025/12/03/nasas-psyche-mission-tracks-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas/) describes the distant observation; the spacecraft was not redirected to intercept the comet.
- Europa Clipper also observed it, from roughly 164 million kilometers away.
A spacecraft can turn its instruments toward a passing comet without being able to reach it. Observation means collecting data from where the spacecraft already is; interception requires getting a spacecraft onto a trajectory that crosses the object’s path at the right time.
Why catching an interstellar object is so hard
These objects are small, faint, and moving quickly against a changing sky. Detection may come only after a visitor is already on an escape trajectory, leaving little time to design, approve, build, and launch a spacecraft. A target’s apparent proximity is not enough: the spacecraft must arrive at the same place and time, and its speed relative to the target determines what kind of encounter is possible.
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A flyby is the more attainable goal
A flyby sends a spacecraft past the object at high relative speed. It can still return valuable images and measurements, but the closest observations may last only briefly. The craft does not need to cancel all of its motion relative to the comet.
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A rendezvous demands much more
To remain near the object, a spacecraft must shed most of its relative velocity. For a fast interstellar visitor, that requires far more energy and preparation than a flyby. Returning a sample would add another demanding set of steps—collecting material, departing the object, and delivering it to Earth—so it is not a realistic response to a surprise visitor with current rapid-response concepts.
Timing and position can matter more than a headline speed
Possible approaches include launching before a target is known, keeping a spacecraft in deep space, using a favorable planetary gravity assist, or developing propulsion that enables higher-energy trajectories. A pre-positioned spacecraft could reduce reaction-time pressure, but mission planners would have to accept that the eventual target might arrive from a direction the craft cannot reach. Waiting also risks years without a suitable target. Launching after discovery gives engineers a known orbit to work with, but the available window may be short and the required launch energy extreme.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which “chase” missions are real?
Several efforts are discussed in connection with intercepting comets or interstellar visitors, but they do not have the same status. One is an approved mission; the others are concepts, research initiatives, or analyses—not spacecraft currently pursuing 3I/ATLAS.
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| Effort | Status and purpose |
|---|---|
| ESA Comet Interceptor | A real European Space Agency mission designed to wait near the Sun–Earth L2 region for a suitable cometary target. The target will be selected later; an interstellar object could be a valuable opportunity, but an encounter is not guaranteed. Public mission information gives a 2028–2029 launch range. See [ESA’s mission page](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Comet_Interceptor). |
| NASA-linked Bridge | A flyby mission concept studied as a possible New Frontiers-class response to a future interstellar object. It is not an approved flight mission or a spacecraft under construction. The [NASA-hosted feasibility study](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20250011638/downloads/MandtFeasibilitySTI.pdf) examines possible interception scenarios. |
| Project Lyra | Research and mission-design work that has explored high-energy ways of reaching interstellar objects. It is not a NASA-approved operational mission. |
| 3I/ATLAS intercept studies | Feasibility analyses considered whether launch scenarios from Earth or Mars, or spacecraft such as Janus, could reach the comet. A separate published proposal examined redirecting Juno for an intercept near Jupiter. Neither analysis is evidence of an executed agency decision or a committed flight. See the [feasibility study](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20250011638/downloads/MandtFeasibilitySTI.pdf) and the [Juno trajectory proposal](https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21402). |
Solar sails, laser-boosted sails, electric propulsion, and nuclear systems may feature in future mission studies. In this context, they are technologies or design options under consideration—not deployed NASA solutions for chasing an incoming object.
What scientists can learn from a visitor from another system
An interstellar comet is a natural sample of material formed around another star, even when a spacecraft cannot collect it. Comparing its gases, dust, ice, and organics with Solar System comets can test how widely shared the processes of comet formation are—and where a different stellar environment leaves a chemical signature.
Its composition and orbit can also help researchers investigate how planetary systems eject small bodies, and how old the visitor may be. Those clues are indirect: composition can suggest a history, but it does not pinpoint a parent star on its own. JWST’s reported carbon-dioxide-dominated coma makes 3I/ATLAS especially useful for comparisons with comets formed in our own system.
Could the next one be intercepted?
Possibly, if a future object is found early enough and its direction and speed suit a spacecraft already waiting or a rapid launch. The central advantage of a mission like Comet Interceptor is readiness before a target is known. It cannot guarantee that the right object will appear within reach, but it illustrates how mission design can change the response from watching a visitor pass to attempting a close flyby.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsOnly three macroscopic interstellar objects have been confirmed so far, but that count is not proof that such bodies are intrinsically rare. Small, faint visitors are difficult to detect and visible for a limited time. More capable wide-field surveys, including the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, should improve opportunities to find them and characterize their paths earlier. Exactly how many will be found, or how often one will be reachable, remains uncertain.
Is an interstellar object a danger to Earth?
3I/ATLAS was not: it passed at about 1.8 astronomical units from Earth, and NASA said it posed no threat. In principle, an object from outside the Solar System could be hazardous if its path intersected Earth. Detecting and tracking it would rely on the same broad survey and orbit-calculation work used in planetary defense, not on treating its interstellar origin as a warning sign.
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