Shortly before the beginning of 2022 astronomers detected a strange piece of spacecraft heading for the Moon. The impact occurred on March 4, 2022, and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later detected the resulting crater. Surprisingly, the crater is actually two craters, an 18-meter-diameter eastern crater, and a 16-meter-diameter overlapping western crater.’- NASA
According to planetary geologist Mark Robinson, principal investigator of the orbiter’s onboard camera, this discovery is somewhat unexpected and amusing, since it is a peculiarly shaped and inaccurate impact.
In fact, the mystery is made greater by comparing the impact with others previously caused by recognized rockets. So far, no other rocket body impact on the Moon has created double craters.
Where did the strange rocket that hit the Moon come from?
Bill Gray, an amateur astronomer, tried to discover the origin of this mysterious rocket. According to his research and analysis, the errant rocket body could belong to China, specifically to the Chang’e booster. E Lunar 5-T1 mission, was launched in 2014.
However, the Chinese government claimed that the rocket was not its property. In Gray’s eyes, the Asian country’s Foreign Ministry mistook the Chang’e 5-T1 spacecraft for the Chang’e 5.
Although these ships share similar names, they are definitely not the same. Moreover, it would not be the first time that both missions have been confused. For Gray, it is a fact that the impact that caused that strange crater is in the hands of China.
Shortly thereafter, the 18th Space Control Squadron of the U.S. Space Force confirmed that the body of Chang’e 5-T1 had returned to Earth about a year after its launch and would have burned up in the atmosphere.
However, the mystery continued after a statement in The Verge, where the same squadron assured that the body of the Chinese spacecraft had never returned to Earth and was still wandering in space.
In conclusion, no nation has claimed the rocket body that created this strange crater on the Moon. Nor has the crashed body been fully identified. Therefore, this lunar impact could be the mystery of the year.
Story originally published in Spanish in Ecoosfera
