Astronomers believe they observed China-based rocket debris hit the surface of the moon in the early hours of March 4th. This is the same wayward rocket that was originally reported to belong to SpaceX.
Since the trajectory of the rocket piece took it to the dark side of the moon it was impossible to catch the event live.
Astronomers were able to confirm the piece of the rocket made a direct hit on the moon. They used satellite images from satellites that orbit the moon. These satellites photograph any anomaly or signs of a collision on the lunar surface.
Identified as China-based rocket
The rocket debris was first spotted by Bill Gray, using his Project Pluto software which tracks near-Earth objects.
This space junk has been erratically orbiting between the Earth and the moon for years.
In a cosmic case of mistaken identity, he reported that the junk was from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. And it appeared to be the upper stage piece launched from Florida by Elon Musk’s team in February 2015.
