Overview

• The draft mission calls for a Jupiter Oberth burn on September 9, 2025 using 110 kilograms of Juno’s propellant—5.4% of its original supply—to shift its orbit.
• Juno’s onboard instruments, including a near-infrared spectrometer, magnetometer, microwave radiometer and cameras, could sample the comet’s nucleus, coma and tail in March 2026.
• As the third confirmed interstellar object in our solar system, 3I/ATLAS has been traced back to pre-discovery TESS observations that refined its trajectory.
• Mainstream astronomers maintain that 3I/ATLAS is a natural outgassing comet with no risk to Earth, and it will not come closer than 1.6 astronomical units.
• The European Space Agency is exploring whether its JUICE probe can be redirected toward 3I/ATLAS, but significant orbital challenges make retargeting unlikely.