Anna Paulina Luna wants answers on comet and ‘interstellar visitors’ to solar system

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says a passing comet could hold information on space aliens.

“This information is of great importance to advancing our understanding of interstellar visitors and their interaction with our solar system,” Luna wrote in a letter to acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy.

The Pinellas Republican sent the letter Oct. 31, demanding the release of more data and imagery obtained on 3I/ATLAS, a comet that passed within about 130 million miles of Earth over the weekend.

The astrological event has generated interest in the space community for weeks after the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found signs the comet may have ice at its nucleus, as reported by The New York Times. The comet also appears to chiefly be made of nickel.

The potential presence of water in the astral body has fueled significant scientific speculation, and observations have led NASA to conclude the comet originated outside of Earth’s solar system. But Luna, who long held an interest in unidentified flying objects, pointedly phrased her letter as an inquiry about alien life.

“I encourage NASA to fund additional observations of 31/ATLAS by the Juno mission near Jupiter, utilizing all available instruments, including its radio sensors. Observations from this vantage point could yield valuable insights into the object’s composition, trajectory, and possible interaction with the solar environment,” Luna wrote.

She is not alone in questioning the comet’s significance. Podcaster Joe Rogan, in an interview with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, asked if the comet’s path near Jupiter, Mars and Venus signaled it may be “aliens.”

“It’d be a very sort of heavy spaceship to make it all out of nickel,” Musk responded, but he did not completely discount the possibility.

Harvard professor Avi Loeb wrote a Medium post that praised Luna for sending the letter. He wrote that it was important to release the images for numerous scientific reasons, but also said the government shutdown has likely caused a delay rather than any ominous findings by NASA.

“We should not hold science hostage to the shutdown politics of the day,” he wrote. “The scientific community would have greatly benefited from the dissemination of this time-sensitive data as astronomers plan follow-up observations in the coming months.”

NASA has scientists studying the comet. But Duffy, for his part, said the comet itself is not evidence of an alien visit. In a response to, of all inquisitors, reality star and moon landing skeptic Kim Kardashian, Duffy on Friday posted about the comet on X.

“NASA’s observations show that this is the third interstellar comet to pass through our solar system,” he wrote. “No aliens. No threat to life here on Earth.”

Florida Politics has asked NASA for comment on Luna’s letter.