NASA Shares First Images of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Captured From Mars
PASADENA, CA โ- November 24, 2025 – NASA has released a series of unprecedented images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by spacecraft currently orbiting and exploring Mars. The images, taken by the Mars reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), MAVEN, and Perseverance rover, offerโฃ scientists a rare possibility to study an object originating outside our solar system.
3I/ATLAS, discovered inโฃ 2023, is only โthe third confirmedโ interstellar object detected passing through our solar โsystem. Its close approach to Mars inโข late โSeptember and early Octoberโข 2025 allowed for detailed observations unavailable fromโ Earth-based telescopes.
The HiRISE camera on MRO captured images showing the comet and its surrounding gas envelope, estimatedโ to be approximately 1500 kilometers in diameter, formed by gas released as the comet nears the Sun. Scientists hope further analysisโ of theseโ images will help determine the size of the comet’s nucleus – its icy, dusty core – andโข the composition of โits โคparticles.
“Observations of interstellar objects are still rare enough that we learn something new every time,” said shane Byrne, hirise principal investigator at theโค University of Arizona.”We are lucky 3I/ATLAS passes โMars thisโ close.”
MRO’s project โscientist, Leslie Tamppari of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, added, “One of MRO’s biggest contributions to โNASA’s work on Mars is observing surface phenomena that only HiRISE can see.this is one of the opportunities where we can also study โคpassing space objects.”
Simultaneously occurring, MAVEN’s Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) observed 3I/ATLAS for ten days (September 27 to October 7)โ across various wavelengths. the resulting images depict the comet โขas a โbright, pixelated dot, exhibitingโค white at its center, blue โat theโ edges, and โdark purple in the outer coma. IUVS data also provides the most detailed information yetโฃ on the comet’s chemicalโฃ composition, including an upper limit on theโฃ hydrogen to โฃdeuterium ratio,โข offering clues โขto its origin.
perseverance rover, operating within Jezero Crater, also successfully captured images of 3I/ATLAS on October 4 using its Mastcam-Z camera, โขrequiring a long exposure time due to the object’sโ faintness.
Currently, 3I/ATLAS is exhibiting newโฃ behavior, including increased brightness, newโค ultraviolet and X-ray activity, and more vibrant colors as it emerges from behind the Sun.
The comet will reach its closest point to Earth on December 19, 2025, at a distance of almost twice โขthe earth-Sun distance (2 AU), posing noโ threat toโข our planet.
