Zürcher Nachrichten - Three, two, one: astronomers predict SpaceX space junk will hit the Moon

EUR -
AED 3.821609
AFN 73.043711
ALL 98.561994
AMD 415.734952
ANG 1.874008
AOA 948.892795
ARS 1067.239304
AUD 1.668181
AWG 1.872815
AZN 1.757682
BAM 1.956454
BBD 2.099482
BDT 124.256752
BGN 1.957817
BHD 0.392426
BIF 3074.798113
BMD 1.040453
BND 1.412959
BOB 7.185402
BRL 6.442694
BSD 1.039838
BTN 88.511732
BWP 14.441688
BYN 3.402905
BYR 20392.87375
BZD 2.092379
CAD 1.496535
CDF 2986.099191
CHF 0.93648
CLF 0.037319
CLP 1029.739995
CNY 7.591767
CNH 7.598484
COP 4556.381863
CRC 527.971385
CUC 1.040453
CUP 27.571998
CVE 110.297624
CZK 25.115501
DJF 185.171889
DKK 7.460816
DOP 63.34117
DZD 140.687327
EGP 52.961546
ERN 15.606791
ETB 132.39725
FJD 2.412966
FKP 0.82402
GBP 0.828196
GEL 2.923108
GGP 0.82402
GHS 15.285109
GIP 0.82402
GMD 74.912518
GNF 8986.65805
GTQ 8.0096
GYD 217.552711
HKD 8.081868
HNL 26.41983
HRK 7.46307
HTG 135.964135
HUF 410.690109
IDR 16866.571316
ILS 3.790359
IMP 0.82402
INR 88.614737
IQD 1362.155262
IRR 43790.051599
ISK 145.091415
JEP 0.82402
JMD 162.007918
JOD 0.737991
JPY 163.632522
KES 134.384575
KGS 90.519253
KHR 4179.356665
KMF 484.981066
KPW 936.406886
KRW 1516.386879
KWD 0.320615
KYD 0.866581
KZT 538.684863
LAK 22740.381777
LBP 93117.221839
LKR 306.450641
LRD 189.251433
LSL 19.334876
LTL 3.072187
LVL 0.629359
LYD 5.10451
MAD 10.485801
MDL 19.185228
MGA 4904.592084
MKD 61.579021
MMK 3379.349922
MNT 3535.458283
MOP 8.3185
MRU 41.508277
MUR 48.974372
MVR 16.027812
MWK 1803.102637
MXN 20.964801
MYR 4.668508
MZN 66.48881
NAD 19.335062
NGN 1610.226956
NIO 38.262788
NOK 11.815418
NPR 141.618971
NZD 1.843304
OMR 0.40057
PAB 1.039848
PEN 3.871945
PGK 4.220248
PHP 60.807174
PKR 289.478921
PLN 4.256856
PYG 8109.710445
QAR 3.781864
RON 4.974508
RSD 116.972699
RUB 104.513453
RWF 1450.570871
SAR 3.90625
SBD 8.722693
SCR 14.683216
SDG 625.834202
SEK 11.538871
SGD 1.414875
SHP 0.82402
SLE 23.721196
SLL 21817.776932
SOS 594.292914
SRD 36.476165
STD 21535.271101
SVC 9.098691
SYP 2614.168982
SZL 19.343279
THB 35.541837
TJS 11.375802
TMT 3.651989
TND 3.315608
TOP 2.436845
TRY 36.690385
TTD 7.066294
TWD 34.011368
TZS 2517.895925
UAH 43.598696
UGX 3806.235546
USD 1.040453
UYU 46.28369
UZS 13423.970506
VES 53.661818
VND 26469.117766
VUV 123.524633
WST 2.87455
XAF 656.17
XAG 0.035166
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.811876
XDR 0.797259
XOF 656.151075
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.503326
ZAR 19.427453
ZMK 9365.323193
ZMW 28.777618
ZWL 335.025359
  • RBGPF

    -0.7000

    59.8

    -1.17%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0200

    7.25

    -0.28%

  • CMSC

    -0.2161

    23.686

    -0.91%

  • RIO

    -0.1100

    59.12

    -0.19%

  • SCS

    -0.0200

    11.63

    -0.17%

  • GSK

    -0.0250

    34.035

    -0.07%

  • RELX

    0.1300

    45.72

    +0.28%

  • NGG

    -0.3700

    58.65

    -0.63%

  • CMSD

    -0.2380

    23.312

    -1.02%

  • AZN

    -0.3300

    66.3

    -0.5%

  • VOD

    0.0810

    8.451

    +0.96%

  • BCC

    0.1700

    122.41

    +0.14%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    36.2

    -0.06%

  • BCE

    0.1200

    22.96

    +0.52%

  • JRI

    0.0500

    12.15

    +0.41%

  • BP

    0.0800

    28.83

    +0.28%

Three, two, one: astronomers predict SpaceX space junk will hit the Moon
Three, two, one: astronomers predict SpaceX space junk will hit the Moon

Three, two, one: astronomers predict SpaceX space junk will hit the Moon

A chunk of a SpaceX rocket that blasted off seven years ago and was abandoned in space after completing its mission will crash into the Moon in March, experts say.

Text size:

The rocket was employed in 2015 to put in orbit a NASA satellite called the Deep Space Climate Observatory.

Since then the second stage of the rocket, or booster, has been floating in what mathematicians call a chaotic orbit, astronomer Bill Gray told AFP Wednesday.

It was Gray who calculated the space junk's new collision course with the Moon.

The booster passed by pretty close to the Moon in January in a rendezvous that altered its orbit, said Gray.

He is behind Project Pluto, software that allows for calculating the trajectory of asteroids and other things in space and is used in NASA-financed space observation programs.

A week after the rocket stage whizzed close to the Moon, Gray detected it again and concluded it will actually crash into the satellite's dark side on March 4.

Gray appealed to the amateur astronomer community to join him in observing the booster -- it is bright and easy to detect -- and his conclusion was confirmed.

The exact time and spot of impact may change a bit from his forecast but there is widespread agreement that there will be a collision on the Moon that day.

"I've been tracking junk of this sort for about 15 years. And this is the first unintentional lunar impact that we've had," Gray told AFP.

The impact of this object weighing four tons on the Moon will not be visible from Earth in real time.

But it will leave a crater that scientists can observe, such as with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or India's Chandrayaan-2 satellite, and thus learn more about the geology of the Moon.

Spacecraft have been intentionally crashed into the Moon before, for scientific purposes.

In 2009, for instance, NASA sent a rocket stage hurling into the Moon near its south pole to look for water.

But most rockets do not go so far from Earth. SpaceX brings its rocket boosters back through the Earth's atmosphere so they disintegrate over the ocean.

Gray said there could be more unintentional crashes into the Moon in the future as the US and Chinese space programs leave more junk in orbit.

O.Pereira--NZN