The technological means to detect objects in the stars have been available for a long time. Two in the last few years, Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, and there are more to come.
There's been a lot of interest in developing a mission that would be able to visit one once we detect it. What would it look like?
A draft paper from a team of mostly American scientists moved us one step closer to launching such a mission.
Part of what makes a mission interesting is that it's weird. Borisov was a typical comet when it entered the Solar System, but Oumuamua was different.
Many scientists thought it would develop a cometary tail. It might have been an alien probe due to the fact that it exhibited acceleration that didn't seem to be accounted for.
Closely examining the claims is the best way to fight them. We need a mission that can catch it. Astronomers are already working on that, so we would have to see it.
The Vera C Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time will be able to detect about the same number of objects every year.
There's a lot of time to find the right person. What should that candidate do?
Where is it coming from? There isn't a "best" angle for anISO to approach from, but it does make a difference where we store the "Interstellar interceptor"
The best place for that would be the Earth-Sun L2 lag point. There is very little fuel needed to stay on station, and any ISI might need to stay in storage mode for a long time.
It has to act quickly once it is called into action, and another L2 resident could help it.
NASA's Time-domain Spectroscopic Observatory is a 1.5 m telescope that will be located at the L2 Lagrange point.
For its ability to capture amazing images, the JWST has a weakness. When tracking ISOs, it can take up to two weeks to focus on a single object. TSO only takes a short time.
The Near Earth Object Surveyor is intended to reside at the L1 Lagrange point of the Earth- Moon system.
Two quick-reacting telescopes should be able to capture images of any ISO that enters the inner Solar System that isn't directly on a trajectory along the L1-L2 baseline.
Getting to the ISO is the next step after detection. Some will be out of reach from an Orbital mechanics perspective.
There is an 85% chance that an ISI will be able to find a suitable object of interest within 10 years.
Once we are able to detect ISOs, it's just a matter of waiting.
A full map of both natural and artificial materials can be found once the ISI reaches the ISO.
The mysterious forces acting on 'Oumuamua could be explained by outgassings.
Scientists want to understand more about the first object we visit.
There will be a lot of opportunities to do so and a lot of data to collect when we do. It's time to start planning.
This article was published in the past. The original article is worth a read.
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