We describe how the ESA Comet Interceptor mission, which is due to launch in 2028/29 to a yet-to-be-discovered target, can provide a conceptual basis for a future mission to visit an Interstellar Object. Comet Interceptor will wait in space until a suitable long period comet is discovered, allowing rapid response to perform a fast flyby of an object that will be in the inner Solar System for only a few years; an enhanced version of this concept could realistically provide the first in situ investigation of a visitor from another star system.
@article{arxiv.2512.00492,
title = {Intercepting Interstellar Objects},
author = {Colin Snodgrass and Marina Galand and Arnaud Beth and Charlotte Goetz and Abbie Donaldson and Cyrielle Opitom},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.00492},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
White paper submitted to the UK Space Frontiers 2035 prioritisation exercise