NASA’s Psyche Just Spotted Something Near 3I/ATLAS—And Scientists Are Stunned by What They Saw

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has recently made significant observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, providing invaluable data while en route to its primary mission target.

Captured from tens of millions of miles away, these new images are helping scientists refine the comet’s trajectory and study the faint coma surrounding its nucleus.

This update marks a noteworthy intersection of two ambitious space missions, one aimed at studying a metal-rich asteroid and the other focused on an extraordinary visitor from another star system.

Astronomers first identified 3I/ATLAS in July 2025, confirming its hyperbolic trajectory, which classifies it as one of the rarest objects ever observed—an interstellar comet arriving from outside our solar system.

Prior to 3I/ATLAS, only two confirmed interstellar visitors had been documented: ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.

The opportunity to study a third interstellar object generated considerable scientific excitement, particularly because 3I/ATLAS was bright and active enough for sustained monitoring as it approached the sun.

Unexpectedly, in September 2025, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, still on its long journey toward the asteroid Psyche, found itself positioned to observe the comet.

Over an 8-hour period, Psyche’s multisspectral imager captured four images of 3I/ATLAS from a distance of approximately 33 million miles.

Although the comet appeared faint, the imager’s capability to detect subtle variations in reflected sunlight allowed scientists to gather crucial data.

The images captured by Psyche are not merely dramatic visuals; their true value lies in the precise measurements they provide.

Each observation offers highly accurate data points for determining the comet’s location and motion.

Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS move quickly and unpredictably through the solar system, making even minor improvements in trajectory modeling essential for understanding their behavior.

Psyche’s unique vantage point, located millions of miles from Earth, adds a geometric advantage that ground-based and Earth-orbiting instruments cannot replicate.

In addition to positional data, Psyche’s cameras detected a faint coma surrounding the comet’s nucleus, confirming that 3I/ATLAS actively releases gas and dust even before reaching its closest approach to the sun.

This information allows astronomers to compare the comet’s behavior with that of both solar system comets and other interstellar visitors.

Psyche’s contribution is part of a multi-mission effort involving telescopes around the world and in space, employing techniques such as infrared spectroscopy, high-resolution imaging, and long-term photometric monitoring.

Each instrument captures different aspects of the comet’s evolution, and Psyche’s observations enhance the overall dataset by providing long baseline measurements that improve accuracy.

As Psyche continues on its planned trajectory toward a gravity assist at Mars in 2026, which will accelerate it toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche for scientific orbiting in 2029, the spacecraft’s brief interstellar comet observation did not alter its mission plan.

Instead, it exemplifies the flexibility of current deep space operations, demonstrating how diverse scientific objectives can be supported simultaneously.

Interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS are invaluable to scientists because they carry physical and chemical signatures of the environments where they formed, which may differ significantly from those in our solar system.

Studying these comets allows researchers to test theories of planet formation beyond our immediate neighborhood using direct material rather than indirect observation.

Early findings from 3I/ATLAS reveal some intriguing characteristics.

Notably, spectroscopic data indicate a strong presence of carbon dioxide, with CO2 levels higher than those typically found in most solar system comets.

The presence of water vapor, carbon monoxide, and oxygen-bearing molecules further supports the idea that 3I/ATLAS formed in a colder region where CO2 ice could accumulate more effectively.

Another important observation concerns the comet’s changing brightness and color as it approaches the sun.

3I/ATLAS has shifted from a redder tone to a more neutral one, likely indicating a transition from older, radiation-processed surface material to fresher dust and ice exposed by solar heating.

This color evolution has been documented across multiple observing campaigns and is consistent with a layered structure shaped by millions of years in interstellar space.

The comet’s activity appears to be sustained, with dust and gas production increasing gradually rather than exhibiting the sudden bursts or fragmentation events often seen in solar system comets.

These characteristics contribute to a broader effort to understand whether interstellar comets follow predictable patterns or represent a wide variety of formation conditions across the galaxy.

With only three known examples of interstellar comets so far, each serves as a critical test point for understanding their behavior.

‘Oumuamua behaved unlike any comet, Borisov resembled a familiar water-rich comet, and 3I/ATLAS appears to fall somewhere in between while introducing its own unique chemical signature.

Understanding these differences helps astronomers refine models of how icy bodies form, migrate, and are eventually ejected from their home systems.

Psyche’s observations, while limited to distant imaging, confirm the extent and persistence of 3I/ATLAS’s coma and provide measurements of brightness variations along the comet’s trajectory.

This data aids in constraining how much dust and gas the comet is releasing and how that activity evolves over time.

When combined with spectroscopic and photometric observations from other instruments, the result is a more complete understanding of the comet’s physical state.

The immediate outcome of Psyche’s observations is improved trajectory modeling, which is crucial for interstellar objects whose high velocities and unbound orbits make long-term predictions challenging.

Although 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth, refining its path provides valuable practice for tracking fast-moving objects with unusual origins, tying into broader planetary defense readiness.

As 3I/ATLAS continues its journey away from the sun, scientists will closely monitor how its coma fades and its spectral features evolve.

This late-stage behavior will provide insight into how interstellar comets might appear when far from any star, where most of their history unfolds.

In summary, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has made a significant contribution to our understanding of 3I/ATLAS, showcasing the versatility of modern spacecraft and the collaborative nature of scientific exploration.

As we await further observations and discoveries, 3I/ATLAS stands as a benchmark for future studies of interstellar comets and a reminder of the mysteries that still lie beyond our solar system.