3I/ATLAS is coming to 'check us out': Musk's ex, Grimes, joins debate on 'mysterious stranger'

After Kim Kardashian, Elon Musk's former partner Claire Elise Boucher, aka Grimes, is the latest celebrity to weigh in on 3I/ATLAS, the interstellar visitor that has created a buzz in the scientific community. The Canadian artist has presented a totally whacky perspective, talking about an alien community and testing whether humans are ready to join. She wrote on X on November 29, "My theory is 3i atlas is coming to check us out cuz we're so close to asi and perhaps when we achieve certain goals we get to join the alien federation of civilizations or else they need to check if we're mentally stable for such god like tech and if they need to eradicate us (in which case we shud be nicer)."

Also Read: 3I/ATLAS could display its 'most remarkable anomaly' near Jupiter - Rare coincidence at perijove

If 3I/ATLAS was an alien spaceship, all it would need to do is…

Grimes admitted that her bizarre take is merely a fantasy. A user explained to Grimes the methods those on board 3I/ATLAS would use if they were aliens. The person commented on Grimes's post that "if they wanted to stay hidden, all they'd have to do is paint the spaceship black." In case, they wanted humans to know that they were coming, “all they need to do is blink a laser at us or change velocity in an unexpected way.” Grimes responded, "Stop destroying my fantasies with ur realistic and informed takes."

Also Read: 3I/ATLAS will be thrown off-course by Jupiter as it exits the solar system

3I/ATLAS makes for a ‘captivating story’ for everyone

In another post, Grimes, who shares son X Æ A-xii and a daughter with Musk, stated that aliens or not, the mysterious visitor makes for a “captivating story for little humans”. "I love when there are scientific discoveries or debates that are as legible and interesting for little humans as they are to adults," she wrote. Grimes added, "I'm not overly wishful but even if it's just a mysterious, strange interstellar object, that is still incredibly captivating and rare."

3I/ATLAS has captured the attention of scientists across the world as it is only the third interstellar object ever seen in the solar system, after Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, both discovered in the last decade. Now with the Vera Rubin Observatory, scientists expect to uncover more such alien visitors.