The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is currently traveling through the inner solar system at high speed, and scientists are trying various ways to observe this comet from outside the solar system. One of the very bold ideas is to have NASA's Europa Clipper probe orbit the comet's tail to collect material for analysis.
Two European researchers said NASA's Clipper mission to Jupiter's second moon Europa may pass through the ion tail of 3I/ATLAS in the coming weeks, possibly between October 30 and November 6.
The Europa Clipper can directly collect material samples from this interstellar comet by passing through the ion wake. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for researchers, because under normal circumstances it is difficult for humans to obtain materials from interstellar space for research.
Planets, dwarf planets, satellites and other materials in the solar system usually have something in common, that is, these celestial bodies are leftovers after our star was successfully lit (nuclear fusion occurred inside) in the early stages of the formation of the solar system. Most of these leftovers come from the same piece of interstellar dust, so they have some commonalities in material composition.
It’s hard to say what materials celestial bodies from interstellar space are composed of. At least humans have not collected material samples from interstellar space celestial bodies before. Therefore, 3I/ATLAS is now traveling through the solar system and the Europa Clipper happens to have the opportunity to collect material samples.
As 3I/ATLAS travels through the inner solar system, as it gets closer and closer to perihelion, the water ice or nitrogen ice material it contains will gradually sublimate, and then form an ion wake under the action of solar light pressure. These ion wakes contain some of the material that makes up comets.
However, there are many problems for NASA now. First of all, many scientific instruments on the probe are inactive. Due to the U.S. government shutdown, it is still unknown whether NASA can activate these instruments in time.
Secondly, the solar wind must blow to the right detector in the right direction and intensity, so as to avoid missing the detector completely or failing to blow heavier ions towards the detector. 3I/ATLAS will reach the sun's perihelion on October 29, when its comet tail will be at its widest, which will help the detector to capture the ions.