Space agencies track rare 3I/ATLAS interstellar object near Mars
The object is thought to be a comet and is only the third interstellar object to be identified within the solar system, according to NASA.
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover might have captured an image of 3I/ATLAS, which scientists first discovered in July, as it passed Mars at a distance of 23.6 million miles from the Red Planet.
The NASA rover's right navigation camera recorded images that show a streak of light against an empty backdrop of space.
The streak likely is about 31,000 miles in length and was made by combining hundreds of images taken by the rover's camera over about 10 minutes, Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb wrote, as reported by NASA.
Loeb said the object is much smaller than the 31,000-mile streak might suggest.
NASA officials said it's yet to be confirmed that the image is the 3I/ATLAS interstellar object.
The ESA also aimed the cameras of two Mars orbiters at the object as it continued its Mars flyby from Wednesday through Tuesday.
"Though our Mars orbiters continue to make impressive contributions to Mars science, it's always extra exciting to see them responding to unexpected situations like this one," said Colin Wilson, ESA project scientist for the Mars orbiters.
"I look forward to seeing what the data reveals following further analysis," he added.
The ESA says it has images of the 3L/ATLAS interstellar object, which came within 18.64 million miles of the ESA's Mars orbiters on Friday and gave them the best view of the suspected comet.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter used its Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System to take a series of digital images of the interstellar object.
The ESA's Mars Express also has tried to capture images of the likely comet with its OMEGA and SPICAM spectrometers, but the effort so far has not succeeded.
ESA officials say they will have another opportunity to record the object from its Jupiter Icey Moons Explorer in November as 3I/ATLAS is near the Sun and becomes more active.
Those recordings won't be available until February, and the ESA has planned a 2029 mission to intercept another "icy wanderer."
The 2029 Comet Interceptor mission would place an orbiter in a location where it could await the arrival of a comet from the Oort Cloud, which encircles the solar system, or another interstellar visitor, such as 3I/ATLAS.
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