Space Experts: Rocket on Path to Hit Moon Misidentified
2022-02-22
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1Earlier this month, we reported on a rocket booster that is on a path to strike the moon in early March.
2Since that report, the space expert who first observed the object has said the booster was misidentified.
3It was first thought that the booster was left over from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used to help deploy a climate satellite in 2015.
4Now, it is believed to be a booster from a Chinese rocket launched in 2014.
5The path of the booster was first observed by American astronomer Bill Gray.
6He is the creator of Project Pluto, based in the northern U.S. state of Maine.
7He develops and sells software that can track the path of different space objects, including leftover ones known as space junk.
8Gray says all his data shows that the rocket will hit the far side of the moon - the side that faces away from Earth - on March 4.
9He received wide attention for identifying the booster and closely tracking its path.
10But Gray recently said new evidence had shown that his identification was most likely not correct.
11"We now have good evidence that it is actually 2014-065B, the booster for the Chang'e 5-T1 lunar mission," Gray said in a statement on his website.
12Chang'e 5-T1 was a robotic spacecraft sent on a test mission to circle the moon and return to Earth in October 2014.
13Gray made his first identification back in 2015.
14He explained that it was based on evidence that the SpaceX booster had "passed close by the moon on February 13, 2015, two days after it was launched."
15Gray said he started taking another look into the booster's identify after receiving an email from Jon Giorgini, who works for the American space agency NASA.
16Giorgini, an engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), had examined NASA tracking data and said it suggested the SpaceX rocket did not pass close to the moon.
17So, Gray reconsidered his earlier observations and looked at the latest evidence.
18He decided that his first identification did seem to be incorrect.
19Now, Gray says he is effectively "persuaded" that the object is a rocket booster from the Chang'e 5-T1 spacecraft.
20The booster's expected strike on the moon has also been confirmed by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Center for Astrophysics.
21He reacted to the misidentification on Twitter.
22"So, the rocket about to hit the Moon, it turns out, is not the one we thought it was," he wrote.
23"This (an honest mistake) just emphasizes the problem with lack of proper tracking of these deep space objects."
24Researchers at the University of Arizona recently announced they had also confirmed the booster most likely came from the Chinese rocket.
25The team - from the university's Space Domain Awareness laboratory - said it confirmed the identity by closely observing the object's composition and paint.
26NASA has also confirmed the expected strike.
27A spokeswoman for the space agency told the French Press Agency, AFP, that the event can be "an exciting research opportunity."
28She said NASA is interested in studying the crater expected to be created by the hit.
29But the spokeswoman added that that is likely to be a difficult process and it could take "weeks to months" to find the crater.
30In the past, spacecraft have been crashed into the moon on purpose for scientific experiments.
31But this is likely the first unplanned strike to be identified in this way.
32I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Earlier this month, we reported on a rocket booster that is on a path to strike the moon in early March. Since that report, the space expert who first observed the object has said the booster was misidentified. 2It was first thought that the booster was left over from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used to help deploy a climate satellite in 2015. Now, it is believed to be a booster from a Chinese rocket launched in 2014. 3The path of the booster was first observed by American astronomer Bill Gray. He is the creator of Project Pluto, based in the northern U.S. state of Maine. He develops and sells software that can track the path of different space objects, including leftover ones known as space junk. 4Gray says all his data shows that the rocket will hit the far side of the moon - the side that faces away from Earth - on March 4. He received wide attention for identifying the booster and closely tracking its path. But Gray recently said new evidence had shown that his identification was most likely not correct. 5"We now have good evidence that it is actually 2014-065B, the booster for the Chang'e 5-T1 lunar mission," Gray said in a statement on his website. Chang'e 5-T1 was a robotic spacecraft sent on a test mission to circle the moon and return to Earth in October 2014. 6Gray made his first identification back in 2015. He explained that it was based on evidence that the SpaceX booster had "passed close by the moon on February 13, 2015, two days after it was launched." 7Gray said he started taking another look into the booster's identify after receiving an email from Jon Giorgini, who works for the American space agency NASA. Giorgini, an engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), had examined NASA tracking data and said it suggested the SpaceX rocket did not pass close to the moon. 8So, Gray reconsidered his earlier observations and looked at the latest evidence. He decided that his first identification did seem to be incorrect. Now, Gray says he is effectively "persuaded" that the object is a rocket booster from the Chang'e 5-T1 spacecraft. 9The booster's expected strike on the moon has also been confirmed by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Center for Astrophysics. He reacted to the misidentification on Twitter. 10"So, the rocket about to hit the Moon, it turns out, is not the one we thought it was," he wrote. "This (an honest mistake) just emphasizes the problem with lack of proper tracking of these deep space objects." 11Researchers at the University of Arizona recently announced they had also confirmed the booster most likely came from the Chinese rocket. The team - from the university's Space Domain Awareness laboratory - said it confirmed the identity by closely observing the object's composition and paint. 12NASA has also confirmed the expected strike. A spokeswoman for the space agency told the French Press Agency, AFP, that the event can be "an exciting research opportunity." She said NASA is interested in studying the crater expected to be created by the hit. But the spokeswoman added that that is likely to be a difficult process and it could take "weeks to months" to find the crater. 13In the past, spacecraft have been crashed into the moon on purpose for scientific experiments. But this is likely the first unplanned strike to be identified in this way. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports from Bill Gray, the University of Arizona, Twitter and NASA. 16We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 17____________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19boost - v. to push or shove up from below 20track - v. to record the progress of development of something 21mission - n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel 22persuade - v. to make someone agree to do something by presenting arguments and evidence 23emphasize - v. to show that something is especially important or needs special attention 24proper - adj. correct or suitable 25composition - n. the parts, substances and other things that something is made of 26opportunity - n. a situation in which it is possible for a person to do something 27crater - n. a round hole made by an explosive force such as a bomb or an object falling from the sky