The interstellar comet 3I\/ATLAS will soon leave our solar system, never to return, but the observations of the comet will live on in NASA\u2019s public data archives. More than a dozen NASA science missions turned their instruments to observe the comet, which is only the third identified object to be visiting our solar system from interstellar space.<\/p>\n
The NASA-funded ground-based ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile first discovered 3I\/ATLAS July 1, 2025. However, queries to another NASA data archive revealed that the comet first appeared on camera long before its official identification in July.<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), which scans the sky for planets outside our solar system, has a wide field of view that happened to capture 3I\/ATLAS in May 2025. This allowed astronomers to better track the comet\u2019s trajectory and understand more about its path through the solar system. TESS data is publicly available in the NASA-funded Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes<\/a> (MAST).<\/p>\n \u201cNASA\u2019s scientific data archives are a gold mine of discoveries waiting to be made,\u201d said Kevin Murphy, chief science data officer<\/a> at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cThe early observations of 3I\/ATLAS from the TESS mission represent just one example of the exciting insights our open data can reveal.\u201d<\/p>\n Decades of observations have given scientists a good idea of the usual chemical makeup and structure for comets formed within our solar system, but because 3I\/ATLAS formed elsewhere, scientists anticipated this comet would have different characteristics. To date, few, if any, comets have been observed by as many spacecraft as 3I\/ATLAS, and combining data from these different missions can deliver powerful new insights.<\/p>\n For example, researchers discovered the relative water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide production rates of 3I\/ATLAS differed from typical comets. They found this result by combining spectral data from NASA\u2019s MAVEN<\/a> (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) Mars orbiter with infrared observations from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> and SPHEREx<\/a> (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s commitment to open science makes it easier than ever to work with data from different sources. For example, the agency\u2019s Planetary Data System<\/a> sets standards that guide planetary science missions to store their data in the same format. It also develops tools that can work across data from several different missions.<\/p>\n \u201cOpen science, as a set of principles, has been pushing us as research communities and NASA to make data more accessible,\u201d said Thomas Statler, lead scientist for Solar System Small Bodies at NASA Headquarters, who coordinated the agency\u2019s observation campaign for 3I\/ATLAS. \u201cIt\u2019s worked into the way we structure and establish standards for our data archives. That’s what makes our data usable.\u201d<\/p>\n Data from SPHEREx, including its observations of 3I\/ATLAS<\/a>, can be accessed through the NASA\/IPAC Infrared Science Archive (IRSA). Data from MAVEN is available through the Planetary Data System. Webb\u2019s observations can be found in the MAST archive.<\/p>\n In the short term, scientists and researchers will be able to use\u00a03I\/ATLAS\u00a0data to learn even more about\u00a0the comet\u2019s\u00a0structure and composition.\u00a0However, the impact of NASA\u2019s observations will have effects far beyond\u00a0this one\u00a0target.\u00a0<\/p>\n Humans only recently developed technologies capable of spotting interstellar objects passing through our solar system. The first\u00a0one\u00a0ever detected, \u2018Oumuamua, was discovered in 2017,\u00a0but\u00a0scientists estimate an interstellar object may pass through our solar system about once per year.\u00a0With the advent of ever more powerful telescopes, these discoveries will become much more common.\u00a0<\/p>\n As\u00a0we become more aware of interstellar objects,\u00a0scientists will increasingly be able to\u00a0compare and contrast\u00a0interstellar objects\u00a0with\u00a0each other\u00a0and understand them as a group.<\/p>\n The amount of data collected about 3I\/ATLAS means this\u00a0comet could become\u00a0an important part\u00a0of the context\u00a0for understanding\u00a0interstellar comets for\u00a0the rest of time.\u00a0This makes it even more beneficial for that data to be available for everyone to access.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThirty-five years from now, when astronomers have seen another thirty-five years\u2019 worth of\u00a0data\u00a0on interstellar comets, they’re going to be asking different questions,\u201d Statler said. \u201cThe\u00a0way we leave a legacy so\u00a0scientists of the future can answer the questions of the future is by having\u00a0these\u00a0data here and preserved for them to use.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer<\/a> leads the open science efforts for the agency. Public sharing of scientific data, tools, research, and software maximizes the impact of NASA\u2019s science missions. To get more stories about the impact of NASA\u2019s science data delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for the NASA Open Science newsletter<\/a>. To learn more about NASA\u2019s commitment to transparency and reproducibility of scientific research, visit:<\/p>\n