3I/ATLAS: Alien ‘Driver’ or Comet? NASA Debunks Hype on Interstellar Visitor

On 1 July 2025, astronomers spotted 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar object zipping through our solar system at 58 km/s. Its arrival ignited global fascination about extraterrestrial visitors and cosmic anomalies.

As it passed Mars on 3 October 2025, 3I/ATLAS drew renewed attention for its strange trajectory and composition — sparking fresh speculation about whether it might be more than just a comet.

NASA’s open data releases counter wild speculations of a ‘living driver’ or hidden truths, emphasising the object’s natural cometary traits amid the hype.

Discovery of 3I/ATLAS: Unusual Traits and the ‘Alive’ Driving Speculation

Astronomers first detected 3I/ATLAS on 1 July 2025 using the NASA-funded ATLAS telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile, part of the planetary defence network scanning for threats. 3I/ATLAS exhibits quirks like high carbon dioxide and nickel levels, low water ice, and multiple jets captured by the Nordic Optical Telescope in November 2025, sparking theories of artificial control.

Harvard’s Avi Loeb, in a 17 July 2025 paper titled ‘Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology?’, highlighted eight anomalies, including its near-Earth orbital plane, estimated 20 km diameter, planetary flybys of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, and weak initial coma evidence. He speculated it could be a ‘Trojan horse‘ probe, citing unexplained acceleration and perihelion survival on 30 October 2025 at 126 million miles from the Sun without fragmentation.

Social media amplified claims of a ‘living driver’, with X user @EzeemmaCraic posting on 25 October 2025: ‘NASA has gone dark… 3I/ATLAS has suddenly grown a mysterious tail… Harvard’s Avi Loeb now warns it could be an alien “Trojan horse”.’

Yet, SPHEREx data from 7-15 August 2025 detected CO₂ gas and water ice, consistent with natural sublimation. James Webb Telescope observations on 6 August 2025 confirmed water vapour, carbon monoxide, and carbonyl sulfide—all typical cometary signatures. Radio signals in November 2025 further affirmed its icy, natural origin, debunking artificial propulsion theories.

NASA’s Response: No Coverup, Just Science

NASA actively shares 3I/ATLAS data, countering cover-up allegations with a dedicated page and a live event on 19 November 2025 event at 3 p.m. EST, unveiling mission imagery via NASA+, YouTube, and Amazon Prime. Observations from Hubble, Swift UVOT (July-August 2025), and TESS (pre-discovery activity on 7 May 2025) revealed steady brightness without outbursts, unlike the fragmented 2I/Borisov.

ESA’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter imaged the object on 3 October 2025 at 18.6 million miles from Mars. China‘s Tianwen-1 captured a series in early October, showing no threats. Its closest Earth approach on 19 December 2025 at 168 million miles poses zero risk.

Penn State’s Jason Wright debunked Loeb’s anomalies on 9 November 2025, noting only four—nickel abundance, polarisation, water scarcity, rapid brightening—warrant further study, and are expected in exotic comets.

NASA reitereated: ‘Every observation so far points to 3I/ATLAS being a natural comet, an ancient object from another star, not an alien visitor.’ Despite government shutdowns noted in X posts like @latestinspace’s 3 October 2025 alert, data continue to flow, prioritising planetary defence over secrecy.

3I/ATLAS, a carbon-rich relic from another star, dazzled telescopes in 2025 with its pristine interstellar chemistry and dramatic jets. Despite fringe theories of alien guidance, exhaustive observations from Hubble, JWST, and Mars orbiters confirm it is a perfectly natural, ancient comet, not a spacecraft or living entity.

Originally published on IBTimes UK