We Need to Intercept Our Next Interstellar Visitor to See If It's Artificial, Astronomers Say in New Study

Scientists are gaming out the best way to intercept objects that zoom into our solar system from interstellar space, an effort that could provide close-up views of entities that hail from alien star systems. Sending spacecraft to catch up with these interstellar objects, and potentially capture images of them from distances of just a few hundred miles, could reveal important details about their composition, evolution, and their origin beyond our solar neighborhood, reports a new study.

It’s been only five years since the discovery of the first known interstellar visitor—a mysterious 300-foot-wide object known as ‘Oumuamua—which was spotted traveling through the solar system in October 2017. In addition to its sheer novelty, ‘Oumuamua was something of an oddball that puzzled scientists, especially because it underwent a sudden speed boost that still remains unexplained. 

Scientists have presented many natural possible origins for the object, while the Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb has famously suggested that it may have been a piece of alien technology. If an intercept mission had been ready to chase down ‘Oumuamua five years ago, we might have some answers to the tantalizing question of the object’s nature and origin. To ensure we don’t miss our next shot at rendezvousing with a similarly strange object, scientists hope to develop a spacecraft that can lay in wait until it is given the green light to pursue an interstellar target.