There is/was talk of getting something developed to catch up to Oumuamua (the first visitor we’ve found). It’s much “slower” at 26 km/s. This new one, Atlas is going about the same speed as New Horizons, the fastest probe we’ve done so far (and that was with numerous gravity boosts, meaning it took time). So yeah, without having something already in space ready and very fast acceleration, this one will be long gone.
There is/was talk of getting something developed to catch up to Oumuamua (the first visitor we’ve found). It’s much “slower” at 26 km/s. This new one, Atlas is going about the same speed as New Horizons, the fastest probe we’ve done so far (and that was with numerous gravity boosts, meaning it took time). So yeah, without having something already in space ready and very fast acceleration, this one will be long gone.