The Nasa silently unfolded his planetary defense tools after detecting “unexplained” behavior on comet 3I/ATLASan object from interstellar space. The technical advisory, issued on October 21 at 21:08 UT by the Minor Planet Center de Harvard, appears in the MPEC bulletin (2025-U142).
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Without press conferences or public statements, the agency activated the planetary defense protocol through a discreet electronic circular that includes an enigmatic phrase: “Announcement of the IAWN Comets Astrometer Campaign from November 27, 2025 to January 27, 2026. The campaign will focus on comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1).”
According to La Razón reference, This is the first time in history that an object outside the Solar System is the subject of a campaign coordinated by the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN).an instance that is only activated when there are real threats to Earth. According to the statement, the exercise seeks to improve global space rock detection capabilities and prepare the planet against a possible incoming threat.
According to the Spanish newspaper, IAWN officials acknowledged that the object poses “unique challenges” to predicting its trajectory. Among the features that most intrigue astronomers is its “antitail,” a stream of particles that points toward the Sun, the opposite of what happens in conventional comets.
During the exercise—which will take place from November 27, 2025 to January 27, 2026—telescopes and tracking systems around the world will focus their attention on 3I/ATLAS, in order to specify its location and behavior.
Theories and speculations
The announcement has caused a stir on social networks, where conspiracy theories They have found fertile ground. On platform X (formerly Twitter), users ask themselves: “Why the silence? What does NASA know that we don’t?” Some claim the event is not a drill, but a response to a real threat.
3I/Atlas Photo:Nasa
The controversial Harvard professor Avi Loeb has added a share of controversy by suggesting that the object could be carrying out a controlled maneuver. For him, this shocking maneuver is a telltale sign that a spacecraft is using the gravity of a large star to change its speed and course.
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The phenomenon, known as Oberth effectwould allow for a significant boost when passing close to the Sun. Loeb estimates that 3I/ATLAS will reach its ideal point to execute this maneuver in a week, when it will be 126 million miles from the star.
During its passage close to Martethe space probes sent photographs showing a “giant and cylindrical body covered in nickel,” a common material in human ships to resist extreme heat. The most recent calculations estimate that the object could have a diameter of more than 28 miles.
Meanwhile, NASA noted only that “the entire space program is currently closed” due to the government shutdown underway and offered no further comments. In its official statement, the campaign was described as a simple cooperation exercise between astronomers “to take better photographs” of the comet.
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