NASA's Juno might chase this interstellar object: Know why
A mysterious space rock called 3I/ATLAS is zooming through our solar system, and there's talk of chasing it down.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb suggested NASA could redirect its Juno spacecraft (currently orbiting Jupiter) to intercept the object.
Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna is on board, asking NASA to look into extending Juno's mission—though it would cost about $15 million every six months.
Still, some experts warn that Juno might not have enough fuel or engine power left for such a wild detour.
3I/ATLAS will be closest to the Sun on November 12
Scientists are excited because 3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar object spotted in our neighborhood. Studying it could reveal secrets about how distant worlds form.
The catch? It's moving super fast—about 60km per second—and will be tough to catch or even observe from Earth when it swings by the Sun in November.
There's hope that other spacecraft, like ESA's JUICE near Jupiter or probes on Mars, might still grab some valuable data as it passes by.