A charred piece of space junk found protruding from an Australian sheep farmer’s lawn was confirmed as part of one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX missions on Thursday.
The ethereal-looking debris, believed to have fallen to Earth on July 9, was found last week in Dalgety – a remote area near Australia’s Snowy Mountains, about a five-hour drive from Sydney. to the southwest.
Astrophysicist Brad Tucker, who visited the site after local farmers contacted him last month, told AFP: “It’s exciting and strange in the same way.
He said that finding the large rock mass embedded in an empty field reminded him of something from the sci-fi movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
“It was amazing to see it.”
Australia’s space agency confirmed the debris came from one of the Musk’s in a statement and ask locals to report any other findings about SpaceX.
“The agency has confirmed the debris is from a SpaceX mission and continues to engage with our partners in the US, as well as other parts of the Commonwealth and local governments as appropriate.” A spokesman for the Australian Space Agency said.
Tucker said the debris was part of the stem ejected by the previous Crew-1 capsule when it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in 2021.
He said the trunk had split on re-entry, with other reports of space junk also found at nearby grounds, making it more likely for more discoveries related to the SpaceX mission.
Most space debris shoots into the sea but with the proliferation of space industries worldwide, the number of collisions to earth is likely to increase, he added.
“We have to recognize that there is a risk it can happen in a densely populated area once and what that means.”
The Australian Space Agency says it is working to reduce the debris and has raised the issue internationally.
