Republican Congresswoman for Florida Anna Paulina Luna asked NASA to release the images captured by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped between October 2 and 3
The growing concerns about a Manhattan-sized ‘alien spaceship’ hurtling towards Earth has sparked a congresswoman to call for NASA to publish unreleased data and images of 31/Atlas. Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna urged the space exploration organisation to help the public better understand “interstellar visitors”.
Congresswoman Luna wrote on X: “I write to request the release of specific observational data related to 3I/ATLAS, recently captured by NASA missions. This information is of great importance to advancing our understanding of interstellar visitors and their interaction with our solar system.”
Luna specifically asked NASA to release the images captured by the HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped between October 2 and 3. The lawmaker also requested “supplementary data” from the Mars Orbiter, the Perseverance Rover, and “other Mars missions that may have detected unusual activity near Mars around or after October 3, 2025, when 3I/ATLAS passed within approximately 30 million kilometers (18.6 million miles) of the planet.”
It comes as the space lump “unexpectedly picked up speed” as it jumped from 130,000mph to 152,000mph. And they have noticed an “extra kick” moving the 12-mile craft off its predicted path, which can’t be explained by the sun’s gravity.
The sun contains almost all of the solar system’s mass, meaning its weight pulls all the planets together in a predictable motion scientists can measure. But these new movements by 3I/ATLAS appear to defy our laws of gravity.
While Nasa believes the sun’s gravity is mainly responsible for the speed boost, scientists are having a harder time figuring out what has caused 3I/ATLAS to noticeably shift away from it.
Most experts are convinced the Manhattan-sized space rock was a comet believed to have travelled to the Sun from another star in a journey lasting billions of years.
But theoretical physicist Avi Loeb warned it could be an “extraterrestrial artefact” about to make first contact. And he argues the acceleration and the object’s striking blue hue might mean it is actually artificial.
The heat of the sun would be causing the icy cold space rock to melt and shoot out jets of gas trapped inside if it were a normal comet. This could potentially push the comet in a different direction.
And Prof Loeb has revealed that astronomers are still awaiting evidence that 3I/ATLAS has released anywhere close to enough gas to prove the object is really a comet.
It is now just six weeks from reaching its closest point to Earth and the physicist believes that not detecting a cloud of gas coming from the object would be a clear sign that this latest speed boost was powered by an extra-terrestrial rocket engine.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .