On October 2, 2025, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter(MRO )observed 3I/ATLAS from 30 million km (19 million miles) away.

The orbiter’s group saw the comet with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument, which typically points at the Martian surface area.

By turning, the spacecraft can point its cam at celestial items also– a method utilized in 2014, when HiRISE signed up with MAVEN in studying another comet, Siding Spring.

“Observations of interstellar items are still unusual enough that we discover something brand-new on every celebration,” stated HiRISE primary private investigator Dr. Shane Byrne, a scientist at the University of Arizona.

“We’re lucky that 3I/ATLAS passed this near Mars.”

Caught at a scale of approximately 30 km (19 miles) per pixel, 3I/ATLAS appears like a pixelated white ball on the HiRISE images.

“That ball is a cloud of dust and ice called the coma, which the comet shed as it continued its trajectory past Mars,” the scientists stated.

Additional research study of the HiRISE images might assist the researchers put a ceiling on the size of the comet’s nucleus, its main core comprised of ice and dust.

The images might likewise expose the residential or commercial properties of particles within the environment surrounding the comet, called coma.

Continuous analysis of the images might even expose pieces of the nucleus or jets of gas, which are often launched as comets separate with time.

“One of MRO’s greatest contributions to NASA’s deal with Mars has actually been seeing surface area phenomena that just HiRISE can see,” stated MRO’s task researcher Dr. Leslie Tamppari, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“This is among those celebrations where we get to study a passing area item too.”

“Thanks to NASA’s fleet of capable spacecraft covering the inner Solar System, we can continue to observe this vibrant item, and from distinct angles,” stated HiRISE co-investigator Professor James Wray, a scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“All 3 interstellar challenge date have actually revealed striking distinctions from each other and from common planetary system comets, so every brand-new observation we make is valuable.”

“To record a peek of a visitor from another galaxy is remarkable in itself,” stated Dr. Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president for research study and collaborations at the University of Arizona.

“To do so from a University of Arizona-led instrument orbiting Mars makes it a lot more amazing.”

“This minute speaks with the resourcefulness of our researchers and the long-lasting effect of this University’s management in area expedition.”

“HiRISE exhibits how tools of discovery serve science and the general public excellent.”