What Europa Clipper and Parker Solar Probe discovered about interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Europa Clipper is part of a set of NASA missions that recently observed 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar comet passing through the solar system.

The object, discovered on July 1, 2025, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Warning System (ATLAS), is only the third known interstellar object detected after 1I/‘Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

Observations were made ahead of the comet’s closest approach to Earth on December 19, when it passed at a distance of 1.79 astronomical units, or about 270 million kilometers.

NASA stated that the Parker Solar Probe and the Europa Clipper spacecraft gathered information about the comet from various places in space.

The measurements were done a few weeks before the Earth flyby and are still being processed.

As per NASA, preliminary findings reveal no anomalies outside the normal range for a comet; however, they are still conducting further analysis.

3I/ATLAS is expected to pass near Jupiter in early 2026. Scientists are using the current data to study its motion and composition.

The observations provide an opportunity to compare material from beyond the solar system with comets formed closer to the Sun.
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Observations by Parker Solar Probe 

The Parker Solar Probe used its Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) to observe 3I/ATLAS from October 18 to November 5, 2025. According to NASA, the spacecraft took 'about 10 pictures' of the comet during this time.

When the observation was made, the Parker Solar Probe was around 195 million kilometers closer to the comet than the Earth.

As the spacecraft was changing its position very fast along its orbit, the engineers changed its direction to follow the comet.

NASA stated that the probe needed to be 'rolled on its axis' in order to keep the object in the camera's field of view.'

The images were later combined into a short sequence showing the comet’s position against the background of space.

According to NASA, the WISPR data will help researchers study dust and gas released by the comet as it travels through the inner solar system.

A NASA mission update noted that the images are “still undergoing processing” and that refined results will be released later.

Scientists are focusing on brightness changes and the structure of the comet’s tail as part of the analysis.
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Europa Clipper’s ultraviolet data and next steps 
 

In November 2025, the Europa Clipper probe similarly photographed 3I/ATLAS from a remote point approximately 164 million kilometers away.

These were a series of seven-hour observations performed by the Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa, UVS).

According to a statement by NASA, the instrument Europa, UVS, is one that examines the elemental makeup by means of ultraviolet light.

The measurements done by Europa, UVS, will, according to the quoted source, provide researchers with the information necessary to recognize the comet gases and then compare them with those found in solar system comets.

NASA has stated that the data gleaned from the study can help in understanding the differences between interstellar objects and those that are formed near the Sun.

Europa Clipper took off in October 2024, and the spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030. Its essential mission is to study Europa, one of the Jovian satellites, which NASA has called a planet with a deep ocean below its icy crust.

The watching of 3I/ATLAS was merely a part of the detour made by the spacecraft on its way.

3I/ATLAS is predicted to be in the vicinity of Jupiter in February 2026.

The team of scientists will keep on scrutinizing the data at hand to see if they can make some further observations during that phase of its orbit.
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Stay tuned for more updates.