Advertisement
Chinese rocket’s moon crash won’t be dangerous but raises questions, experts say
- Moon can withstand far bigger impacts, according to astronomers, but the object’s misidentification as SpaceX rocket shows the challenge of tracking space junk
- The crash will add to the debris in orbit, responsibility for which should be borne by spacefaring nations, Hong Kong expert says
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
26
The moon is set to take a direct hit from a Chinese lunar mission rocket next month, but it is “well built to take that sort of abuse”, according to the astronomer who initially misidentified the rocket as belonging to American company SpaceX.
The rocket, which is as heavy as an Asian elephant, is set to strike the surface of the far side of the moon on March 4. It was a booster for the Chang’e 5-T1 mission and launched in 2014 as part of the Chinese space agency’s lunar exploration programme.
“This is a roughly four-tonne object that will hit at 2.58km [1.6 miles] per second,” said astronomer Bill Gray, who was the first to identify the future impact. “The moon is fairly routinely hit with larger objects moving in the ballpark of 10-20km per second – hence the craters.”
Advertisement
Writing on his personal website, he said the rocket would hit the moon in the 520km-wide Hertzsprung crater, which cannot be seen from Earth.
01:28
China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission returns to Earth with moon samples
China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission returns to Earth with moon samples
The astronomer said he misidentified the object in 2015 as a booster rocket built by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x