We don’t know whose rocket is about to hit the moon – that’s a problem

We don’t know whose rocket is about to hit the moon – that’s an issue

An previous rocket will slam into the far aspect of the moon on 4 March and nobody is accepting possession of the area junk – comparable objects may pose a security threat for future crewed lunar missions

A illustration of area junk in orbit round Earth

ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL

Whose moon rocket is it? China has denied it's the proprietor of a rocket that's about to hit the moon – however specialists imagine it's. The confusion has highlighted our inadequacies in monitoring area junk, notably at distant distances from Earth, with implications for returning people to the moon.

In January, astronomers introduced that a human-made object was set to hit the far aspect of the moon on 4 March. Initially recognized because the higher stage of a SpaceX Falcon …