On Oct. 3, the comet came within about 18 million miles of the Red Planet. Both China's Tianwen-1 Mars Orbiter and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured it. But while NASA's images remain locked away due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, China has already shared its photos with the world.

The orbiter, which is part of the nation's ongoing Tianwen 1 mission for Mars exploration, took the images of the comet, coded 3I/ATLAS, on Oct 3 as it whizzed past the Red Planet. It is the third confirmed interstellar object passing through the solar system, after 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.

It is a hot debate bracketed by cold hard facts: What are the best methods for handling Mars samples here on Earth? Planetary protection is a measure to safeguard our world from any contamination that could result from bringing home any potential ...