视频丨我国航天器首次观测到星际天体！天问一号传回新照片

Core Insights - The Tianwen-1 orbiter successfully observed the interstellar object Atlas (3I/ATLAS), marking the first time a Chinese spacecraft has observed such a celestial body [2][5] - Atlas was discovered on July 1, 2025, by a survey telescope in Chile and is the third known interstellar object to visit the solar system, potentially older than the solar system itself [2] - The observation was conducted from approximately 30 million kilometers away, making Tianwen-1 one of the closest spacecraft to the target [2] Group 1 - The successful observation of Atlas represents an important expansion task for Tianwen-1, serving as a technical trial for asteroid exploration in the upcoming Tianwen-2 mission [5] - The Tianwen-1 team began preparations for the Atlas observation in early September, facing challenges due to the object's distance, high speed (approximately 58 km/s), and small size (nucleus diameter of about 5.6 km) [5] - The brightness of Atlas was significantly dimmer than Mars, making it 10,000 to 100,000 times darker than the Martian surface, which posed high demands on the orbiter's attitude control and imaging strategy [5] Group 2 - The optical payload on Tianwen-1 was originally designed for capturing bright Martian surfaces, marking the first attempt to photograph such a distant and faint target [5] - The Tianwen-1 team conducted extensive simulations and feasibility assessments to adapt the high-resolution camera for this unique observation task [5] - Since entering Martian orbit in February 2021, Tianwen-1 has been operating stably for 4 years and 8 months [5]