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Space
Space
Science
Elizabeth Howell

Ready for the next 'Oumuamua? Launching flyby missions to visiting interstellar comets is 'feasible and affordable,' study says

SwRI NASA Alan Stern Earth Solar System Sun 3IAtlas ESA
An illustration of the comet 3I/ATLAS as it streaks past the sun. Scientists have selected the best spacecraft to observe this passage.

We have the means today to fly a spacecraft by an interstellar object visiting our solar system, a new study concludes — and we could have done it already with comet 3I/ATLAS.

Flyby reconnaissance of interstellar objects is "feasible and affordable," scientists with the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), who led the study, said in a statement on Wednesday (Sept. 3).

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