3I/ATLAS conundrum: NASA gives Kim Kardashian 'tea' on alien comet, and Loeb now wants her on his team. Here's why

Harvard scientist Avi Loeb has been asking NASA to release its observations of 3I/ATLAS made by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. However, he is yet to receive even a simple response on the matter. Meanwhile, when Kim Kardashian asked Sean Duffy, "What's the tea on 3I/ATLAS?", the acting administrator was quick to respond. He commented, "NASA’s observations show that this is the third interstellar comet to pass through our solar system. No aliens. No threat to life here on Earth." Loeb flagged this strange behaviour in his blog and other YouTube shows, saying, why would the NASA chief immediately respond to Kim, “a successful businesswoman”, but not a scientist? The Harvard professor stated that Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna had submitted a letter to Duffy requesting data on 3I/ATLAS taken by NASA’s HiRISE camera "on the same day", October 31. Loeb said even he "requested access to the data from the Principal Investigator of the HiRISE camera team, Professor Alfred McEwen at the University of Arizona," but received "no response" to his email.

Seeing how the NASA chief is open to responding to Kim Kardashian, a celebrity, Loeb cheekily headlined his blog "Kim Kardashian is Welcome to Join my Research Team on 3I/ATLAS." Duffy even listed in detail how the third interstellar object got its name. "3 = the third
I = interstellar, meaning from beyond our solar system
ATLAS = discovered by our Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) team."

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Loeb has been lashing out at NASA for holding crucial data taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter when 3I/ATLAS flew by the Red Planet on October 3. He says that the HiRISE camera was able to capture the best images of the object, considering its position. However, the government shutdown and bureaucracy have led to science being held hostage, Loeb said.

Also Read: 3I/ATLAS oddities might increase as it emerges from Sun's glare - 'If 5 billion tons of gas...'

The only photo of 3I/ATLAS during Mars flyby

The only image we have of 3I/ATLAS during its Mars flyby came from the European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. It captured a coma but no tail. Its Mars Express orbiter also saw the alien visitor, but its data is still not out. 3I/ATLAS is right now near the Sun after reaching perihelion on October 29-30. Loeb says the clearest data on its identity would be available after it emerges from its glare. He says if we spot a massive gas cloud measuring about 5 billion tons around it, then it is surely a comet. However, if that is not the case, then something else is at play.