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NASA Opens Vast Data Archive on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Recently, NASA opened a public archive compiling observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, hosting datasets in the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes, NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive and Planetary Data System.
Driven by NASA's open‑science policies, the agency preserved data showing TESS captured 3I/ATLAS in May 2025, before its discovery by ATLAS on July 1, 2025.
Combining MAVEN spectra with Webb and SPHEREx infrared data revealed the comet's water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide production rates differ from typical comets.
In the short term, researchers can use the archive to study 3I/ATLAS's structure and composition, and the release preserves a legacy dataset so future astronomers can compare interstellar objects.
More than a dozen NASA science missions and ground telescopes observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which will soon leave our solar system but remain archived for future study as detection improves.

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8 Articles

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NASA Captures Unprecedented Data on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS - Washington Today

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theskylive.com

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How Open NASA Data on Comet 3I/ATLAS Will Power Tomorrow's Discoveries - NASA Science

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1 day ago·Washington, United States

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