In March 2022, a piece of Chinese space junk crashed into the moon, leaving a double crater on the surface. A new study concludes that these indentations may have been caused by an unusually heavy object.
In 2015, the researchers noticed that a space object was on a collision course with the celestial body, but they did not know who was to blame for this.
Astronomers initially thought it might be SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle, but eventually realized it was China’s Chang’e lunar rover mission launch vehicle. However, China has denied this claim.
This current study, however, confirmed this earlier assumption. Furthermore, in addition to the Chinese rocket debris, the research team has now come to the conclusion that the strange double crater left behind indicates that something else was transported by the escaped space debris – writes article in Futurism.
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Moments after Long March 3C launched
Specifically, the researchers’ observations of the Chinese rocket suggested that some heavy object might have been attached to it, causing it to spin and tumble in space in an unusual manner before crashing.
Whatever was attached to the destroyed rocket appears to have been large enough to counterbalance the two 1,200-pound engines.
We have no idea what it could have been, we think it might have been an extra support structure or an additional instrument. We will probably never know the exact truth
– he explained Tanner Campbella doctoral student in space research at the University of Arizona.
2023-11-25 06:35:55
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