Examples of Interstellar objects are asteroids, comets, or rogue planets that are not gravitationally bound to a star. The data of the time revealed that the object was a meteorite. Named CNEOS 2014-01-08, the object is believed to be about half a meter across, and its potentially interstellar origin was first identified by then graduate student Amir Siraj and Harvard professor Avi Loeb. The data they collected at the time suggested it could be an interstellar object—the first known to hit Earth and the third ever recorded. The other two interstellar objects recorded are Oumuamua and Borisov. Siraj and Loeb had concluded that CNEOS 2014-01-08 may be beyond our Solar System because of its unusually high heliocentric velocity, meaning it was moving at speeds that suggest it may not be bound to the gravity of the Sun. However, the problem in 2014 was that the data used to measure the impact of the object that would confirm whether it was an interstellar object came from a US Department of Defense spy satellite. As a result, the details of the item were carefully guarded. Therefore, a paper by Siraj and Loeb has remained unpublished and not peer-reviewed. But in March of this year, US Space Operations Command chief scientist Joel Moser reviewed the classified data and confirmed that “the velocity estimate reported to NASA is accurate enough to indicate an interstellar orbit.” US Space Force Lt. Gen. John Shaw signed the letter confirming the interstellar object. However, detecting the remains of the meteorite is likely to present some challenges, as it could burn up during its descent into the Earth’s atmosphere, likely leaving only fragments behind scattered on the ocean floor. Therefore, the mission team would likely carry a large magnet attached to a trawler to pick up the pieces. In an interview with Universe Today last year, Loeb said the mission would give the scientific community a chance “to put our hands on the relic and figure out if it’s natural, if it’s rock, or if, you know, a small fraction of those [interstellar objects] it may be artificial’. (With information from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE