A rare visitor from beyond our solar system, comet 3I/Atlas, is poised to make a dramatic close approach to Mars this Friday, as a fleet of spacecraft trains its sights on the interstellar visitor. The interstellar object will hurtle within 18 million miles (29 million kilometres) of the Red Planet, marking its nearest pass during its journey through the inner solar system at a staggering speed of 193,000 mph (310,000 kph). Both of the European Space Agency's satellites orbiting Mars have already begun training their cameras on the comet, which is only the third interstellar object known to have traversed our cosmic neighbourhood. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementNASA's satellites and rovers stationed on Mars are also prepared to contribute to the extensive observations. Throughout November, the ESA's Juice spacecraft, currently en route to Jupiter and its icy moons, will continue to monitor the comet.