Could We Probe an Interstellar Object Before It Zips Out of the Solar System?
In June, a mysterious object was spotted hurtling through the inner solar system on a hyperbolic path. It was later confirmed as an interstellar object, the third such entity from outside our solar system to be seen in the night skies. The rare discovery has prompted a scientific scramble to understand the object and its origins, including potential probes to study it up close. Scientists at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) put together a mission study that outlines how a spacecraft coul