{"id":880,"date":"2022-03-05T16:16:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T16:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/05\/after-mistaken-identity-and-confusion-a-piece-of-space-junk-slams-into-the-moon\/"},"modified":"2022-03-05T16:16:42","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T16:16:42","slug":"after-mistaken-identity-and-confusion-a-piece-of-space-junk-slams-into-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/05\/after-mistaken-identity-and-confusion-a-piece-of-space-junk-slams-into-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"After mistaken identity and confusion, a piece of space junk slams into the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/3\/4\/22958705\/chinese-rocket-space-debris-moon-collision-change-5-t1<\/a>
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After years of zooming through deep space, a presumed leftover piece of a Chinese rocket slammed into the Moon today, just as space tracking experts expected it would. At least, it should<\/em> have hit the Moon around 7:30AM ET this morning, as long as the law of gravity has not changed. The collision brings an end to the rocket\u2019s life in space and likely leaves a fresh new crater on the Moon that may be up to 65 feet wide.<\/p>\n

The now-expired rocket has caused quite a buzz this past month. First of all, the vehicle was never intended to crash into the Moon, making it a rare piece of space debris to find its way to the lunar surface by accident. Additionally, there was some confusion over its identity, with various groups trying to nail down exactly where the rocket came from.<\/p>\n

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