CHINA’S Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter has successfully captured detailed imagery of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Thursday.

The observation was conducted from approximately 30 million kilometers away, making Tianwen-1 one of the closest detectors to study this interstellar visitor.

Processed data revealed the object’s comet-like structure, featuring a distinct nucleus and an expansive coma extending several thousand kilometers in diameter.

Researchers created an animation from a 30-second image sequence, clearly illustrating the object’s trajectory and providing valuable data for further scientific analysis.

This successful observation marks a significant extended mission achievement for Tianwen-1, while also validating technical capabilities for China’s upcoming Tianwen-2 asteroid mission.

Discovered on July 1, 2025, by a Chilean sky-survey telescope, 3I/ATLAS represents the third known interstellar object passing through our solar system.

The CNSA estimates its age at 3-11 billion years, potentially older than our solar system, making it a scientifically valuable sample for studying the exoplanetary system.

The observation posed substantial technical challenges due to the object’s extreme distance, high velocity (58 km/s), rapid relative motion (86 km/s), and faint appearance from Mars orbit.

The achievement demonstrated the orbiter’s advanced capabilities, successfully imaging a target 10,000-100,000 times dimmer than its original Martian surface targets.

The Tianwen-1 probe, operating stably in Mars orbit since February 2021, continues to exceed its design parameters after over four and a half years of service.

(SD-Agencies)