Harvard Astronomer Suggests “Second Moon” May Be Lost Soviet Probe
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A recently observed โคcelestialโ object, temporarily orbiting Earth and dubbed the “Second Moon,” could be the remnants of the Soviet Union’sโ Zond 1 โspacecraft launched in 1964, according โto Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb.
Lost and Found? โThe Zond 1 โขHypothesis
The object, โฃofficially designated 2025 โคPN7, sparked โcuriosity after โคbeing captured โin โEarth’s orbit. Loeb proposes that 2025 โPN7 isn’t a natural celestial body, butโ rather debris from the zond 1โ mission. The โZond 1 probeโฃ experienced technical โdifficulties early in its mission, resulting in a loss of dialog.
Working withโข engineer Adam Hibberd of the Initiativeโ for Interstellar โขStudies, Loeb recalculated the Zond 1 โขmission trajectory. Their analysis suggests the probe โขmay have been lost near theโ Sun โคand has now โbeen rediscovered โคafter decades in orbit.
“space” Loeb suggests the object could be the remains of the probe’sโข catheter.
verifying the Claim: Spectral Analysis
To validateโ this intriguingโ hypothesis,โ scientists are proposing spectral measurements of 2025 PN7. Analyzing the object’s surface composition willโ help determine whether it is indeed a natural meteorite or, indeed, a piece of human-made spacecraft.
Precedent for Rediscovered Space Debris
This isn’t the frist time a similar claim has been made and afterwardโฃ confirmed. In 2020, astronomers identified object 2020 SOโค as aโ likely component โฃof NASA’s Surveyor 2 Moon โคmission from 1966. Further investigation ultimately verified this identification, demonstrating โคthe possibility of rediscovering lost space hardware.