The first-ever interstellar probe may cruise through space like a boat through the ocean, propelled by super-focused light beamed onto a sail the size of Texas.

In the past decade, astronomers have witnessed three interstellar objects (ISOs) passing through the solar system. These ...

“The Interstellar Probe has the potential of being Lao-tzu’s ‘first step of a 1,000-mile journey,’” McNutt says, quoting a famous line from the Tao-te Ching.

Dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the comet poses no danger to Earth and will remain roughly 150 million miles away as it speeds by, according to NASA. The interstellar comet was first spotted Tuesday by the ...