Overview

• ExoMars TGO’s CaSSIS camera recorded a faint, diffuse coma during the comet’s October 3 pass about 30 million kilometers from Mars, with no tail visible in the images.
• NASA’s Perseverance rover also obtained pictures during the approach, though the nucleus was too small and distant to resolve.
• Mars Express attempted spectroscopic measurements, but short exposure times limited the data and teams are still analyzing results.
• 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar comet observed, distinguished by a hyperbolic trajectory through the Solar System.
• ESA says additional observations are planned, with the JUICE mission set to monitor the object near perihelion in November, while public speculation about artificial origin remains unsubstantiated.