The moon is about to be hit by three tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several huge lorries. The leftover rocket will smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800mph on Friday, away from telescopes’ prying eyes.
It may take weeks, even months, to confirm the impact through satellite images. It has been tumbling haphazardly through space, experts believe, since China launched it nearly a decade ago. But Chinese officials are dubious it is theirs.
No matter whose it is, scientists expect the object to carve out a hole 33ft to 66ft across and send moon dust flying hundreds of miles across the barren, pockmarked surface. Low-orbiting space junk is relatively easy to track.
