Article 5WRNK After mistaken identity and confusion, a piece ofspacejunk slams into the Moon

After mistaken identity and confusion, a piece ofspacejunk slams into the Moon

by
Loren Grush
from The Verge on (#5WRNK)
Back_side_of_the_Moon_AS16_3021.0.jpg

After years of zooming through deep space, a presumed leftover piece of a Chinese rocket slammed into the Moon today, just as space tracking experts expected it would. At least, it should have hit the Moon around 7:30AM ET this morning, as long as the law of gravity has not changed. The collision brings an end to the rocket's life in space and likely leaves a fresh new crater on the Moon that may be up to 65 feet wide.

The now-expired rocket has caused quite a buzz this past month. First of all, the vehicle was never intended to crash into the Moon, making it a rare piece of space debris to find its way to the lunar surface by accident. Additionally, there was some confusion over its identity, with various groups trying to nail down...

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