Nearly five years after its discovery, the true nature of 'Oumuamua—the first confirmed interstellar object—remains a mystery. As it speeds away from our solar system, researchers from the Institute for Interstellar Studies propose an ambitious mission to rendezvous with it before it's too late.
In October 2017, astronomers detected the first known interstellar visitor, designated 1I/2017 U1 or 'Oumuamua ("distant first messenger" in Hawaiian). Trajectory analysis indicates this roughly 400-meter-long object originated from a direction toward the Constellation Lyra.
Its unusual cigar-like shape set it apart from typical rounded asteroids and comets. Observations revealed non-gravitational acceleration as it neared the Sun, hinting at outgassing similar to comets.
Recent research in Nature Astronomy suggests 'Oumuamua may be a fragment of a planet or rocky body disrupted by tidal forces near its home star.
Speculation has ranged from natural origins to extraterrestrial technology. In 2018, the Breakthrough Initiatives team scanned it with the Green Bank Telescope—the world's largest steerable radio telescope—but detected no artificial signals.
With only brief observations available upon its discovery—already outbound—the best path to unlocking its secrets may be a dedicated flyby mission.
Volunteers from the UK-based Institute for Interstellar Studies (i4is) have outlined this in their Lyra project paper on arXiv.
They propose launching a spacecraft in 2028, leveraging gravity assists from Earth, Venus, and Jupiter—standard maneuvers used by NASA and other agencies to boost speed and adjust trajectories.
'Oumuamua itself gained speed from a solar flyby, peaking near 300,000 km/h, before settling to an interstellar velocity of about 95,000 km/h as it exits our system.
The team evaluated two trajectories: one solar flyby and one Jupiter flyby. The Jupiter option is preferable, avoiding the need for a heat shield.
Using chemical propulsion and these assists, the probe could reach 'Oumuamua in about 26 years, arriving at a relative speed of 18 km/s—ideal for detailed imaging and analysis during approach and flyby.
While still conceptual, this mission to our nearest interstellar target promises groundbreaking insights into extrasolar materials and dynamics.
