The European Space Agency is making use of spacecraft designed for Mars and Jupiter missions to track interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it continues its journey through our solar system.
First spotted in July 2025 by an ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope in Chile, 3I/ATLAS became the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system. Astronomers identified its extrasolar origin due to its unusual trajectory, which doesn't follow a closed orbit around the sun, and velocity of around 130,000 mph (219,000 km/h). Astronomers have noted that 3I/ATLAS would remain visible to ground-based telescopes until September 2025, before its path carries it too close to the sun — and eventually behind it from Earth's perspective.
