An object from another star system is moving near Earth this week. It is named the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. It will make its closest pass to our planet on Friday.
The comet will be 167 million miles away. That is a very safe distance. It is the third known object from beyond our solar system to visit us.
Scientists first saw 3I/ATLAS in June. It is traveling very fast through our solar system. In October, it passed close to Mars. After passing Earth, it will head toward Jupiter. It will get close to that planet in March 2026.
NASA is tracking the comet’s path. The space agency shares updates online. The object is estimated to be big. It could be as small as 1,444 feet or as large as 3.5 miles across.
A NASA director gave more details. Paul Chodas said the comet will leave our solar system in the 2030s. He said it will never come back. It is on a one-way trip out into deep space.
There was earlier speculation about this object. Some reports said NASA activated a secret planetary defense plan. Scientists later confirmed it is just a comet. It is not a threat.
Around the same time, NASA lost contact with a Mars spacecraft. The spacecraft is called MAVEN. It has been orbiting Mars since 2014.
MAVEN stopped communicating on December 4. NASA has been unable to reconnect with it. This happened after the comet passed near Mars.
Online, some people have made a connection. They suggest the comet 3I/ATLAS might have “taken out” the MAVEN spacecraft. NASA has not confirmed this idea. The cause of the communication loss is still unknown.