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NASA's Juno could visit 1st-ever interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA's Juno spacecraft could soon get a new mission: flying by the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which was spotted speeding through our solar system on July 1, 2025.
The comet is harmless to Earth and will swing closest to the Sun this October, passing inside Mars's orbit.
Comet's close encounter with Sun in October
If all goes well with fuel and planning, Juno could zip past 3I/ATLAS near Jupiter in March 2026 and collect close-up data—something we rarely get from visitors beyond our solar system.
Ground telescopes have already confirmed the comet's icy, dusty nature, giving scientists (and all of us) a unique peek at an object from another star before it slips away again.