Doomed rocket crashing into Moon tomorrow at 5,800mph could be a GOOD thing, scientists say
A ROGUE rocket tumbling through space will provide scientists with a rare learning opportunity when it hits the Moon tomorrow.
The one-tonne booster's final moments will shed light on the ins and outs of space impacts, according to astronomer Dr Paul Hayne.
Writing in this week, the University of Colorado Boulder physicist said that Friday represents an "exciting opportunity".
At some point that day – experts aren't sure when – a rocket booster will hit the lunar surface after spending eight years orbiting Earth.
It will be the first time a manmade object has crashed into another space body without being aimed there.
The collision will occur on the far side of the Moon as the one-tonne hunk of space junk is travelling at around 2.6 km per second.
"As a planetary scientist who studies the Moon, I view this unplanned impact as an exciting opportunity," Dr Hayne wrote.
"The Moon has been a steadfast witness to solar system history, its heavily cratered surface recording innumerable collisions over the last 4 billion years.
"However, scientists rarely get a glimpse of the projectiles – usually asteroids or comets – that form these craters.
He added: "Without knowing the specifics of what created a crater, there is only so much scientists can learn by studying one."
He reported that the junk was a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage launched from Florida in February 2015.
It was on a mission to deploy an Earth observation satellite called DSCOVR for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
However, Bill later retracted his claim and said the rocket part most likely belonged to China. China has since denied the accusation.
As part of its LCROSS mission, in 2009 Nasa deliberately smashed a rocket booster into the Moon in hopes of learning something from the debris it left behind.
"In essence, this is a 'free' LCROSS… except we probably won't see the impact," Gray wrote in January.
In other news, the mystery surrounding why prehistoric Brits built Stonehenge has finally been solved after research confirmed that the monument served as an ancient solar calendar.
In other news, the iPhone's virtual assistant, Siri, is getting a new, "gender-neutral" voice.
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