Scientists have been able to identify the spot where a discarded rocket body smashed into the Moon. Astronomers thought the crash site could be on the far side of the Moon. According to a NASA press release, before and after images taken by the LRO allowed scientists to spot two craters created by the impact. There is a question in need of an answer about the creation of the two craters.
There is still confusion as to where the space junk came from. It was initially thought to be the upper stage of a discarded Falcon 9 rocket that was launched in 2015, but further analysis showed a remnant of China's Chang'e 5-T1 lunar mission. The object is not owned by Chinese officials. Bill Gray, creator of ProjectPluto, a software program for scanning solar system objects, told Inside Outer Space that there was no good reason to think the object was anything other than the Chang'e 5-T1 booster.
It seems to be the first time that a piece of space junk has accidentally hit the moon. Our stuff has crashed into the moon before, but those were either intentional or failed attempts.
NASA said that the LRO wouldn't be able to observe the impact, but that it would be able to monitor the environment. The process could take weeks or even months to complete, as the impact happened around four months ago, according to NASA.
The crash site is close to the predicted impact point according to an email from an astronomer. The predicted location was 33.55E 5.18N, while the actual location was 229.49E 5.23N. He said thatNewton won again.
The impact has created two craters, one 59 feet wide and the other 16 feet wide. The crater has a wide width of 92 feet. The cause of the double crater was said to be by NASA.
The double crater was unexpected and may indicate that the rocket body had large masses at each end. Typically a spent rocket has mass concentrated at the motor end; the rest of the rocket stage mainly consists of an empty fuel tank. Since the origin of the rocket body remains uncertain, the double nature of the crater may help to indicate its identity.
He wrote in his email that it was possible that it came in at an unusual angle with a bounce, but he pointed out that he was not a cratering expert.
Double craters are a common fixture of asteroid impacts, as they often travel and crash in pairs. The third stage of the rockets and the second stage of the rockets were deliberately crashed into the moon. Not double craters.
I'm not sure if NASA's explanation for the double crater is plausible. There is a chance that the craters are the result of two meteorites hitting the Moon at the same time and place. Hopefully scientists will find the source of the space junk so that we can put this story behind us.
The setting stage for inaugural launch was declared complete by NASA.
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