IT之家 May 19, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the international scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL) published the latest research results of China's Tianwen-1. The research team used Tianwen-1's High-Resolution Imaging Camera (HiRIC) to successfully image the third interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, multiple times , obtaining unique information on the dust activity of the interstellar object from the perspective of Mars orbit .

3I/ATLAS was discovered in July 2025, with an orbital eccentricity of 6.14. Its hyperbolic orbit indicates that it is an interstellar visitor born billions of years ago from outside the solar system.

In October 2025, this interstellar object made a close encounter with Mars (only 0.194 astronomical units), providing an observation window for the Tianwen-1 probe. Unlike observations from Earth or near-Earth orbit, Tianwen-1 was able to observe it from the southern side of the 3I/ATLAS orbital plane, with the line of sight forming an angle of 35°–45° relative to the orbital plane. This geometric configuration offered excellent conditions for clearly resolving the distribution of 3I/ATLAS dust under varying solar radiation pressure.

This successful observation is an important extended mission of Tianwen-1, fully demonstrating that the Tianwen-1 orbiter is operating stably and in good condition. It provided unique observational constraints on the dust particle size and ejection velocity of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. This observation served as a technical test for opportunistic observations of temporary "targets of opportunity" using in-orbit deep space probes, accumulating engineering experience.

Attached below is the timeline of Tianwen-1 from IT Home(IT之家):

• On July 23, 2020, Tianwen-1 was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site aboard a Long March 5 Y4 carrier rocket.

• On February 10, 2021, Tianwen-1 rendezvoused with Mars and successfully executed a capture braking maneuver to enter orbit around Mars.

• On May 15, 2021, Tianwen-1 successfully achieved a soft landing on the Martian surface.

• On May 22, 2021, the Zhurong Mars rover successfully drove onto the Martian surface and began its patrol and exploration.

• On November 8, 2021, the Tianwen-1 orbiter successfully performed its fifth near-Mars braking maneuver, accurately entering the remote sensing mission orbit to conduct global remote sensing of Mars.

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