3i/Atlas sparks questions as NASA withholds new images — what’s really happening?

3i/Atlas has turned a rare science moment into a noisy argument about transparency and signals. 3i/Atlas is only the third confirmed interstellar visitor, and the public is hungry for every new frame. NASA and ESA assets have collected real data already. Hubble captured a dust coma in July. JWST took spectra that highlight carbon dioxide. Mars orbiters even tried a side-on look as 3i/Atlas swept past the Red Planet.

At the same time, a viral storyline says images are being withheld and hints at radio pulses. Harvard’s Avi Loeb asked NASA to release Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter pictures he says were taken on October 2 and 3. He argues that a communications freeze during a funding lapse should not block timely science. 

Are NASA images of 3i/Atlas being withheld? The data that exists and why some releases lag

ESA has already shown a faint detection from Mars orbit. ExoMars CaSSIS imaged 3i/Atlas near closest approach to Mars, and Mars Express attempted supporting views. ESA described the target as extremely faint and the observation as hard. ESA instrument scientist Nick Thomas, as per the ESA report dated October 7, 2025, said,

“This was a very challenging observation for the instrument. The comet is around 10 000 to 100 000 times fainter than our usual target.”

Loeb says NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE camera also imaged 3i/Atlas on October 2 to 3, and that the pictures were not posted for weeks. He published a public request that NASA release them. Loeb stated, as per a Medium post dated November 1, 2025,

“We should not hold science hostage to the shutdown politics of the day,...Joe Rogan suggested that I contact the interim NASA administrator, Sean Duffy.”

NASA has not issued a counter-statement naming specific files, and the agency’s science pages displayed a funding-lapse notice that paused normal updates. As per the NASA Science report dated October 1, 2025, NASA stated,

“There has been a lapse in funding … civil servant points of contact … will be unable to respond.”

Geometry also limited views from Earth during perihelion, since 3i/Atlas was near the Sun from our line of sight. These factors explain most of the lag, even as pressure for faster releases grows.

What 3i/Atlas is and is not, the verified science so far?

Hubble’s July image shows a teardrop-shaped dust coma around an icy nucleus. That is classic comet behavior, and it matches expectations for a volatile body heating up. NASA’s comet page also notes the perihelion timing near October 30 and stresses that the object is not a threat to Earth. NASA stated, as per the NASA Science report dated August 25, 2025,

“While the comet poses no threat to Earth, NASA’s space telescopes help support the agency's ongoing mission to find, track, and better understand solar system objects.”

JWST spectra taken before perihelion indicate a carbon-dioxide-dominated gas coma, which helps model mass loss and size. The JWST team wrote, as per the NASA Goddard report dated September 22, 2025,

“The coma of 3I/ATLAS is very CO2 rich.”

Independent spectroscopy from ESO’s Very Large Telescope reported neutral nickel lines and weak iron in some bands. That chemistry is surprising, but it is not unique in comet studies. None of these measurements confirms any radio pulses or artificial signals. SETI Institute guidance remains clear that interstellar does not mean mysterious signals by default.

This is the core picture today. 3i/Atlas looks like an active comet from another star system. The composition has oddities that scientists can probe with more spectra and imaging. The orbital path is hyperbolic, so the object will exit the Solar System after passing the Sun. Perihelion near Mars’s orbit and the Sun-glare geometry created a natural gap in ground observations, which is normal.

Harvard warnings vs consensus: What will settle the 3i/Atlas debate next

Loeb has argued that early dynamics showed “first evidence” of a non-gravitational acceleration around perihelion. He has also urged the rapid release of Mars-side images and suggested specific tests for unusual behaviour. Those views are hypotheses. A separate pre-perihelion fit by Cloete, Loeb, and Vereš set a strict upper limit on any non-gravitational acceleration through late September. That is consistent with ordinary outgassing that was too small to detect then. The key question is what post-conjunction fits will show once new astrometry arrives.

A coordinated campaign now gives observers that chance. The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) has opened a focused astrometry effort for 3i/Atlas from November 27, 2025, to January 27, 2026. This will pool precise positions from many telescopes so dynamical models can lock down any extra forces. NASA, Hubble, JWST, and Mars assets are also slated for additional looks as 3i/Atlas emerges from conjunction.

Stay tuned for more updates.