Interstellar Now! Missions to and Sample Returns from Nearby Interstellar Objects
Andreas M. Heina, T. Marshall Eubanks, Manasvi Lingam, Adam Hibberd,, Dan Fries, Jean Schneider, Pierre Kervella, Robert Kennedy, Nikolaos Perakis,, Bernd Dachwald

TL;DR
This paper explores feasible mission concepts using current or near-term technology to visit and sample interstellar objects like 'Oumuamua and Borisov, aiming to understand their origins and properties.
Contribution
It maps interstellar object classes to specific mission types, detailing flyby, rendezvous, and sample return strategies for direct exploration.
Findings
Feasible mission types for interstellar objects identified
Sample return missions can analyze composition and structure
Exploration will inform about interstellar object origins
Abstract
The recently discovered first high velocity hyperbolic objects passing through the Solar System, 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, have raised the question about near term missions to Interstellar Objects. In situ spacecraft exploration of these objects will allow the direct determination of both their structure and their chemical and isotopic composition, enabling an entirely new way of studying small bodies from outside our solar system. In this paper, we map various Interstellar Object classes to mission types, demonstrating that missions to a range of Interstellar Object classes are feasible, using existing or near-term technology. We describe flyby, rendezvous and sample return missions to interstellar objects, showing various ways to explore these bodies characterizing their surface, dynamics, structure and composition. Interstellar objects likely formed very far from the solar system…
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