Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: NASA's Multi-Spacecraft View

What if a visitor from another star system flew right through our cosmic backyard? NASA mobilized a dozen spacecraft to study interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, unlocking secrets of alien star systems. From the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter capturing images just 19 million miles away to the Perseverance rover spotting it from the Martian surface, this campaign provides an unprecedented, system-wide view. Even sun-watching missions like SOHO and asteroid-bound spacecraft like Psyche turned their lenses on the traveler, tracking its unique composition and trajectory. This massive effort provides a rare chance to compare a foreign comet to our own, revealing how other planetary systems might be built. This knowledge helps refine our models of planetary formation and improves our ability to track future interstellar visitors.