SCIENTISTS predicted a possible rocket collision on the moon on March 4, 2022.
So what actually happened? Here’s everything you need to know.
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What happened to the moon on March 4, 2022?
On March 4, 2022, a rocket part collided with the moon at around 7:25am ET as predictions came true.
The crash wasn’t visible to humans, but the “rogue rocket” is said to have created a plume of dust that may have lingered “for hours”.
Lunar orbiters couldn’t see the rocket come down after it smashed into the moon on its far side.
According to the National Geographic the rocket “smashed into the moon’s far side in 350-mile-wide Hertzsprung crater”.
Astronomers believe the rocket would create a 65-foot-wide crater but the area of impact is not visible to Earth’s telescopes.
A Nasa spokesman said: “Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will use its cameras to attempt to identify the impact site and determine any potential changes to the lunar environment resulting from this object’s impact.
“The search for the impact crater will be challenging and might take weeks to months.”
The rocket was completely obliterated.
It is the first known event of unintentional impact by human-made debris.
Space agencies have previously slammed spacecraft into the moon to dispose of them.
Where did the rocket come from?
Confusion has rained over where the debris is from.
Original thoughts were that it was part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX excursion, before this was debunked.
It has since been suggested the rocket could belong to China’s Chang’e 5-T1 mission, which was launched in late 2014.
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However, The US Space Command later confirmed that the Chinese rocket body “never de-orbited”.
They said: “We cannot confirm the country of origin of the rocket body that may impact the moon.”
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
