A SpaceX rocket on a collision course with the Moon

Seven years ago, Falcon 9 – because This is the missile He was launched into space on a mission to launch a weather observation satellite into orbit. But he did not return to Earth because he did not have enough fuel to do so.

as a.d. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Since 2015, the rocket (especially the several meters long part) has been attracted by the gravitational forces of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun, Which made his track a bit “chaotic”.

After completing the mission, it became another cosmic trash – millions of them circulating near the Earth.

Bill Gray, one of the developers of the program called Project Pluto, which helps track objects in the vicinity of our planet, such as asteroids and comets, became interested in the fate of the abandoned Falcon 9. According to Gray’s calculations, a SpaceX rocket may explode in Moon on March 4.

Such an explosion will leave a trace. But can we be sure that Falcon 9 will end its “life” in such an amazing way?

“If it was a piece of rock, I would be 100% sure (…) but We’re dealing with space junk, so it’s a little more complicated. I have a fairly complete mathematical model that describes what the earth, moon, sun, and planets do and how their gravity affects an object. I know how much sunlight pushes an object out, and gently pushes it away from the sun. This usually allows me to make predictions with a high degree of certainty. However, it is difficult to predict the true effects of sunlight, writes Bill Gray in his blog.