Catching Up With a Comet

Do recent studies of interstellar comets give us clues as to whether a mission to Borisov or Oumuamua is feasible?

An unmanned craft passing by Jupiter on its way to an interstellar comet. Credit: Vadim Sadovski (image).

Towards the end of 2019, Borisov (C-2019 Q4) made its way through our solar system, crossing the ecliptic and approaching within 2 astronomical units of the sun. A recent study of the trajectory of the comet published in Nature…