Interstellar invader comet 3I/ATLAS could be investigated by these spacecraft as it races past the sun: 'This could be literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'

An illustration of the comet 3I/ATLAS as it streaks past the sun. Scientists have selected the best spacecraft to observe this passage.

New research investigates the possibility that different spacecraft could visit Comet 3I/ATLAS, giving scientists a unique on-location view of the interstellar visitor, or even offering the chance to collect material that could be much older than the bodies of our solar system.

Discovered on July 1 by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System), 3I/ATLAS is just the third-ever object found drifting through our solar system that is believed to have originated from around another star. It therefore offers scientists a unique opportunity to study material from another planetary system. However, recent examination of this interstellar intruder's trajectory and its velocity of around 130,000 mph (219,000 km/h) has revealed that it could actually originate from a region of our galaxy much older than the solar system and its immediate surroundings.