NASA & ISRO Capture Rare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Past Mars, Faster Than Any Object We’ve Ever Tracked | World News
A Rare Visitor from Beyond the Solar System: NASA and ISRO have joined forces to observe one of the most extraordinary cosmic wanderers ever detected: 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar comet hurtling through space at an incredible speed of 130,000 miles per hour. Captured using India’s 1.2-metre Mount Abu telescope and a fleet of NASA spacecraft, this celestial object marks only the third confirmed interstellar visitor after ‘Oumuamua and Borisov.
On November 19, ISRO released high-resolution images from Mount Abu Observatory, while NASA released a multi-mission dataset offering the closest and clearest images of the comet as it passed by Mars.
NASA’s Mars Orbiter Captures Comet Closely
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As 3I/ATLAS approached the Red Planet earlier this fall, three NASA spacecraft locked their instruments on it. While the comet was only 19 million miles (30 million km) away, Mars Orbital Reconnaissance used its famous HiRISE camera to capture one of the sharpest images ever captured of a passing interstellar object.
These images show the comet’s developing coma, an expanding cloud of gas and dust, as solar radiation begins to heat its core.
MAVEN’s Ultraviolet Eyes Reveal Water-Ice Activity
NASA’s MAVEN orbiter took things one step further. MAVEN detected a hydrogen halo in the environment using its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph; This suggests that water ice sublimates rapidly as the comet heats up near the Sun. This is crucial evidence confirming that 3I/ATLAS carries water from a completely different star system.
Perseverance Rover Detects Visitor from Mars Surface
Even from the surface of Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has joined the effort. About 30 million km from the comet, the Mastcam-Z camera recorded a faint streak of 3I/ATLAS hurtling across the sky; It’s a breathtaking moment that highlights the scale and precision of modern planetary science.
NASA’s Solar Observing Missions Reveal Hidden Tail Structures
As the comet approached the Sun, NASA brought in its solar fleet:
STEREO
SOHO
FIST
By combining image stacking and polarimetric techniques, scientists were able to enhance the faint details of the comet’s tail, revealing hidden structures shaped by the solar wind and radiation, features too subtle for ground-based telescopes to detect.
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Lucy and Psyche Helped Map Its Orbit Millions of Miles Away
Two deep space missions also contributed important data.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft In early September, it captured four observations from 33 million miles away in eight hours.
On September 16, Lucy recorded a series of images from 240 million miles away, helping to improve predictions of the comet’s coma and hyperbolic orbit.
These observations helped scientists calculate its path through our Solar System with remarkable precision.
We just published the latest images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, observed by eight different spacecraft, satellites and telescopes.
Here’s what we learned about the comet and how we study it from across the solar system: https://t.co/ZIt1Qq6DSp pic.twitter.com/ITD6BqVlGn– NASA (@NASA) 19 November 2025
ISRO’s Mount Abu Telescope Provides Detailed Earth Images
Back on Earth, scientists at ISRO’s Physical Research Laboratory used: Mount Abu 1.2 meter telescope Between November 12-15 to get sharp optical images.
These false-color images revealed a near-circular coma, while spectroscopic analysis detected characteristic emissions of CN, C₂, and C₃, chemicals commonly found in active comets.
The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) used its 1.2 m telescope at Mount Abu to make a post-perihelion observation of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
For more information visithttps://t.co/hGs5FcDa44
#SpaceScience #Astronomy #BRISKET pic.twitter.com/ZgywJbWfm9— ISRO (@isro) 19 November 2025
Why is 3I/ATLAS Important?
Interstellar objects are incredibly rare; Only three have been confirmed so far. Unlike comets in the Oort Cloud, these objects are formed by entirely different star systems and carry material forged around alien suns.
Studying 3I/ATLAS offers scientists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity:
1. Understand planet formation in other systems
2. Compare chemical signatures in stellar environments
3. Track how interstellar debris reacts to our Sun
4. Improve models of how objects move between star systems
Moving at 130,000 miles per hour, this comet is moving too fast to remain in our Solar System. But the data collected by NASA and ISRO guarantees that it will leave behind invaluable scientific information long after it returns to interstellar darkness.
ALSO READ | Visitor from the Stars: The Amazing Journey of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS and What It Tells Us About the Universe – Check All Updates
