Prof. Avi Loeb has written a new paper suggesting that as we can't send a probe to intercept 3I/Atlas we could perhaps use the Juno spacecraft which is currently orbiting Jupiter to take a look at 3I/Atlas as it passes the planet on on March 14th 2026 6rather than than crash the probe into Jupiter as currently planned.
It also seems the slight tail and ovoid shape shown by the Hubble image of 3I/Atlas isn't a tail as it's on the leading edge of the object heading toward the Sun , spectral analysis of the object also shows no evidence of a Cometary tail ... yet.
![[Image: STScI-01K20P6VXD6G137QK05H7XRG0W_2025081...6x1132.jpg]](https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/08/STScI-01K20P6VXD6G137QK05H7XRG0W_20250810_204747-1536x1132.jpg)
![[Image: 1*3aKVej1Hbh90_FJlfkJyXw.jpeg]](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/format:webp/1*3aKVej1Hbh90_FJlfkJyXw.jpeg)
Not sayin it's Aliens but if we don't use all the tools at our disposal to look with an open mind how will we know , assuming it's a Comet doesn't make it a Comet.
Quote:It is quite clear that a mission launched from Earth to 3I is completely infeasible, given how little warning we had of its arrival in the Solar System. Furthermore, it would not be within the performance envelope of the proposed ESA Comet Interceptor mission, so in other words, even if a spacecraft had been waiting at the Sun/Earth L2 point. Now, 3I coincidently comes quite close to Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, which is in itself a strange happenstance and will be unlikely to recur with any future ISO.
It seems reasonable, therefore, given the above serendipities and the impossibility of a dedicated probe being launched to encounter it in time, to enquire whether any existing spacecraft orbiting around Mars or Jupiter could be exploited for an intercept or a close approach. It is thus in this context that the work is worthwhile, and such analysis will only apply to ISOs that happen to have close encounters with the planets, which, as I have articulated, will be very rare indeed.
If doable, this exciting new goal will rejuvenate Juno's mission and extend its scientific lifespan beyond March 14th, 2026. So far, we have examined a zero-distance intercept of Juno with 3I/ATLAS. The optimal option involves a Jupiter Oberth Maneuver, which requires an application of ∆V on September 9th, 2025, only 8 days prior to the originally intended termination date for Juno's plunge into the atmosphere of Jupiter. Having delivered this thrust to diminish Juno's altitude, a further ∆V is subsequently delivered, constituting a Jupiter Oberth Maneuver and resulting in an eventual intercept of the target 3I/ATLAS on March 14th, 2026.
https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-probe-...ntists-say
It also seems the slight tail and ovoid shape shown by the Hubble image of 3I/Atlas isn't a tail as it's on the leading edge of the object heading toward the Sun , spectral analysis of the object also shows no evidence of a Cometary tail ... yet.
Quote:Over the past day, new figures were added to the latest paper I wrote a week ago with Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, which suggested to probe 3I/ATLAS with the Juno spacecraft when it passes within a distance of 54 million kilometers from Jupiter on March 16, 2026. The new figures show that two impulses of thrust can bring Juno to within 25 million kilometers from the path of 3I/ATLAS, using merely 60 kilograms of propellant, only 3% of the initial fuel that Juno had at its disposal. Here’s hoping that NASA will follow up on our proposal for the benefit of interstellar space archaeology. The scientific exploration of our cosmic neighborhood is young and we still have a lot to learn.
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/3i-atlas-has...d5d2cb0a86
Not sayin it's Aliens but if we don't use all the tools at our disposal to look with an open mind how will we know , assuming it's a Comet doesn't make it a Comet.