Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS approaches Mars as space agencies rush to make observations

The Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS will buzz past Mars this week — making its closest pass to any planet on its route as scientists are rushing to coordinate crafts to observe the phenomenon.

3I/ATLAS will begin its pass by the Red Planet Wednesday and will be closest on Friday — reaching just over 18.5 million miles away, according to the European Space Agency.

The entire progression will be observed by the ESA’s orbiters the Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter as well as NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which will utilize the cutting edge HiRISA camera to get the clearest images yet of the rock.

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who believes the interstellar object could be alien technology, stated the new images will help solve the mysterious object which first popped into view on July 1.

“The highest resolution image so far was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21, 2025, when 3I/ATLAS was at a distance of 570 million kilometers. This is 20 times farther than the closest approach of 3I/ATLAS to Mars,” Loeb told The Post.

“The brightest pixel in the HiRISE image would gauge the surface area of 3I/ATLAS and therefore its diameter. In a recent paper, I derived that the diameter of 3I/ATLAS is larger than 5 kilometers, larger than the width of Manhattan island,” Loeb said.

Loeb pointed out the massive size difference between 3I/ATLAS and the first observed interstellar object — Oumuamua — which was merely the size of a football field and the second interstellar object — Borisov — which had a diameter of just .04 kilometers.

“Why is the third interstellar object 3I/ATLAS a million times more mass than the first one? The image of HiRISE might exacerbate or weaken the discrepancy,” Loeb said. “Time will tell.”

New analysis of the anomalous rock conducted by the astrophysicist suggested that the object is even larger than initially thought — and could weigh in at 33 billion tons.

Following its close pass to Mars, 3I/ATLAS will come to its closest proximity to the Sun on Oct. 30 — when it will pass from observational view from the vantage of Earth.

Professor Loeb previously claimed “if the object makes a maneuver on October 29 the stock market will crash.”

Then, between Nov. 2 and 25 the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer — called Juice — will begin its observation as 3I/ATLAS approaches and passes Jupiter on its way out of our Solar System.