"Large Space Debris Scheduled to Collide with the Moon, Found to Be Made in China" [Reading Science]

US Astronomer Revises Observation Results... "Upper Part of China's Changzheng 3C Rocket, Not SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket"

Chinese unmanned probe 'Chang'e 5' carrying lunar surface samples takes off [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A large piece of space debris expected to collide with the Moon in March is now known to be of Chinese origin, not American. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, previously identified as the 'main culprit,' can breathe a sigh of relief, while international controversy surrounding 'space debris' is expected to intensify.

According to space news outlet SpaceNews on the 14th, American astronomer Bill Gray revised his observation results announced last month on the 12th to reveal this.

On the 21st of last month, Gray had forecasted that a celestial object named 'WE0913A' would collide with the Moon on March 4. He explained that this object was actually the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket launched by American billionaire Elon Musk's space exploration company SpaceX in 2015 to place the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite into orbit. He also predicted that this 4-ton piece of 'space debris' would collide near the Hertzsprung crater on the far side of the Moon, creating a crater approximately 20 meters wide. Consequently, SpaceX, which has recently been producing large amounts of space debris due to failed cluster satellite launches, faced a flood of criticism with accusations of "dumping trash on the Moon this time."

However, Gray reversed his observation results that day, explaining that this large piece of space debris was not the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket. While the Falcon 9 rocket did carry NOAA's DSCOVR, he received information that it did not approach near the Moon while en route to the Lagrange-1 (L-1) orbit.

Instead, Gray stated that it is estimated to be the upper stage of China's Changzheng-3C rocket launched in October 2014. At that time, China used the Changzheng-3C rocket to launch the unmanned lunar lander Chang'e 5-T1 to secure atmospheric re-entry technology ahead of the lunar lander Chang'e 5 mission. Gray indicated that the large piece of space debris expected to crash into the Moon on March 4 is likely the upper stage payload compartment of this rocket. The Changzheng-3C rocket approached very close to the Moon to land Chang'e 5-T1, and the orbit at that time matches the orbit of the large space debris expected to collide with the Moon this time, which supports this conclusion.

Gray told SpaceNews, "Although it is still circumstantial evidence, I find it quite convincing," adding, "The object that will collide with the Moon at 12:25 PM UTC on March 4 is truly the upper stage of the Changzheng-3C rocket."

Meanwhile, China caused global alarm last May when debris from the 20-ton Changzheng-5B rocket fell. In 2018, the space station Tianhe-1 crashed, prompting astronomers worldwide, including those in South Korea, to urgently calculate the crash time, location, and expected damage scale.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.