China's Tianwen 1 Mars Probe Captures Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
From its orbit around Mars, China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft has successfully photographed the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during its passage by the Red Planet, contributing to the global scientific effort to study this rare cosmic visitor.
3I/ATLAS is only the third known object to enter our solar system from another stellar system, following the discoveries of 'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. The comet, believed to be older than our own solar system, offered a unique opportunity for multiple space agencies to collect data from different vantage points.
“The European Space Agency and NASA directed their Mars orbiters and rovers toward the comet during its early October flyby,” noted mission updates shared by the agencies.
In a similar effort, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) reported that between October 4 and mid-October, Tianwen 1 captured detailed images showing the transient object’s path through space. The spacecraft used its High-Resolution Imaging Camera (HiRIC) — similar in role to NASA’s HiRISE on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, though with slightly lower resolution — to observe the comet moving across distant stars.
The imaging operation was technically demanding. Tianwen 1 had to pivot from targeting Mars’ bright surface to tracking a dim, fast-moving comet from approximately 18 million miles away.
Author’s Summary
Tianwen 1’s imaging of 3I/ATLAS marks a milestone in interplanetary observation, joining global missions exploring one of the few known visitors from beyond our solar system.