ESA's JUICE Mission to Observe Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS in November

The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) is scheduled to observe interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS between November 2 and 25, 2025. This mission marks a unique opportunity to study a comet originating from outside our solar system.

JUICE will employ five instruments during this observation period: a camera, a near-infrared imaging instrument, an ultraviolet spectrometer, a sub-millimeter instrument, and a sensor designed to image neutral atoms.

The closest approach between JUICE and 3I/ATLAS will occur on November 4, 2025, at a distance of approximately 64 million kilometers (0.428 astronomical units). Despite this considerable distance, the spacecraft's instruments are expected to provide valuable data on the comet's properties.

Due to JUICE's current position relative to Earth, data transmission rates are low. Consequently, the data collected during these observations are anticipated to be downloaded in February 2026.

3I/ATLAS, first detected on July 1, 2025, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile, is only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system.

The comet reached its closest approach to the Sun in late October 2025 and is now moving away. Observations from JUICE aim to enhance our understanding of such interstellar objects and their characteristics.