A Large Object Landed on His Sheep Farm. It Came From Space.

Mick Miners was herding sheep on a four-wheeler last week when he came across a large object. He thought of a burned tree or a piece of farm equipment.

In a remote corner of southeastern Australia, Miners has a 5,000-acre property.

He said he was surprised. It isn't something you see on a sheep farm.

You can sign up for The Morning newsletter.

A farmer named Jock Wallace found a similar object on his farm a few days before the miners took the picture.

Space debris was what it was.

NASA said in a statement that the object was likely the remaining part of the Dragon spaceship that was used in the Crew-1 mission. NASA said that if you believe you have identified a piece of debris, don't attempt to recover it.

Equipment that doesn't work in space is referred to as space debris. While reentering the atmosphere, most space debris burns up, and a lot of it ends up in the ocean. Impacts on land may happen more often with more spaceships entering the sky. The company did not reply to the request.

It is not uncommon for space debris to be found on the ground after a re-entry.

It was surprising to me that most of the trunk survived the heating process of reentering, but there was no indication that it was riskier than the rest of the vehicle. It has been difficult to get technical information from private companies in the new commercial era for space exploration. Should we expect this from all the trunk re-entries if they happen over land?

The trunk segment, which is used to carry cargo, is thrown out of the capsule after the burn is complete. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it burns up in the atmosphere over the open ocean.

Last week, after debris from a large Chinese rocket reentered Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, the administrator of NASA, Bill Nelson, issued a rebuke. All countries should share this type of information in order to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy-lift vehicles, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property.

The possibility of debris from the rocket hitting a populated area led people around the world to track its trajectory for days. The third flight of Long March 5B, China's largest rocket, made what is called "uncontrolled reentering" back to Earth.

There were bright objects in the sky last year after a malfunction in a rocket stage. The farmer had pieces of the rocket debris on his property. After 22 days in the air, the debris reentered.

The rural area of Australia where the space debris was found is about 100 miles south of the capital.

Ron Lane, who owns a restaurant in the town of Dalgety, said that most people in the area were not concerned about space debris landing on them or their homes.

Lane said by phone from his restaurant that there could be more than one.

The man who was born on the farm where he found the debris said that his neighbor, Wallace, called the authorities to report the other debris that he found on his own property. The public interest grew after Wallace called the Australian national broadcaster and said that three pieces of debris had been found.

Miners has about 5,500 sheep, 100 cattle and 30 horses on his farm in the district of Numbla Vale.

An official from the Australian Space Agency called on Thursday to say that its experts would visit his property next week to have a look at his piece of debris.

The miner said that he was not sure what would happen after learning about how the debris had landed.

If the space agencies or company wanted it back, he was interested in a bit of compensation.

The director of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law, Sa'id Mosteshar, said that a person would only be able to claim compensation if the debris harmed them or their property.

Miners thought they would want it back. I have no idea. I have no idea about it. I'm a sheep farmer.

The New York Times Company is owned by The New York Times.