3I/ATLAS: Indian astrobiologist's study to spot artificial activity in interstellar objects

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) As the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS moves through the inner Solar System, a new research paper by an Indian astrobiologist has proposed a systematic way to test whether such visitors could show signs of artificial activity.

3I/ATLAS is the third known object from outside our solar system to be discovered from outside our solar system, after ‘Oumuamua’ (in 2017) and 2I/Borisov (in 2019).

Published as a preprint on Zenodo, the research proposed an eight-point operational model for analysing measurable indicators -- from navigational changes to electromagnetic emissions -- that could reveal non-natural behaviour.

“The approach replaces speculation with observation,” said Pushkar Ganesh Vaidya, author of the paper and head scientist at Indian Astrobiology Research Foundation (IARF).

“Any functioning spacecraft, whatever its origin, must interact with its environment in ways we can detect. Those interactions form the basis of this framework,” he added.

While the paper does not claim that 3I/ATLAS or any other interstellar object is artificial, it defines how such a claim could be tested in a falsifiable, data-driven way using existing astronomical and planetary-science instruments.

Each of the eight points -- including trajectory control, rotational behaviour, electromagnetic or thermal modulation, and environmental perturbations -- corresponds to an observable signature that ground-based telescopes or spacecraft sensors can examine.

The framework is designed to be repeatable, scalable, and adaptable for future interstellar detections.

The work forms the scientific foundation of the Interstellar Object Contact Mission (IOCM-1) -- a plan to place a small signalling device on an interstellar object such as 3I/ATLAS, marking the first deliberate attempt to communicate from Earth to other civilisations via an interstellar messenger.

“By treating these encounters as scientific opportunities rather than mysteries, we can expand our understanding of both natural and potential artificial processes in space,” Vaidya said. “It’s about asking verifiable questions, not drawing premature conclusions.”

The paper comes as global observatories prepare for increased interstellar-object detections through new sky surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

Vaidya argued that clear evaluation standards will be essential as discoveries of interstellar objects become more frequent.

--IANS

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