NASA Expert Believes New "Asteroid" is a Discarded Rocket Part

An "asteroid" that is expected to be caught in the Earth's gravity and become its mini-moon is actually an old rocket from a past mission, according to NASA's asteroid expert.

Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), explained that the newly-discovered object is not an asteroid, but instead an old rocket apparently from a failed attempt to land at the moon 54 years ago - finally finding its way home. Further observations in the following days will help scientists better confirm their identity.

A Discarded Rocket Part

"I'm pretty jazzed about this," Chodas said to The Associated Press. He added that it has been his hobby, finding these objects and identifying them, explaining that he has "been doing it for decades now."

The CNEOS manager infers that what has been identified as Asteroid 2020 SO might actually be the upper stage of a Centaur rocket, the one that successfully carried NASA's Surveyor 2 lander to the lunar surface on September 20, 1966, before being discarded. The Surveyor mission lifted by this Centaur rocket was a landmark in demonstrating the capacity of hydrogen engines in space.

Its payload, Surveyor 2, crashed at high velocity against the Moon after a failed correction maneuver in the middle of its course, with one of its thrusters being unable to reignite. The Centaur rocket that carried it, flew past the moon, entering an orbit headed toward the Sun as an intended discarded rocket. Now the discarded Centaur returns more than five decades later.

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Chodas was curious since the asteroid's near-circular orbit is similar to that of the Earth, which he cites as unusual for an asteroid. Another point is that the object lies in the same plane as the Earth, it is almost level as our planet and is not tilted either above or below. Generally, asteroids come from different, often odd, angles. The third point that Chodas found unusual is that 2020 SO is zooming towards Earth at 2,400 kilometers per hour, which is relatively slow for an asteroid.

If Chodas' assumption is correct, the upper rocket stage - which is essentially a metal can dash through space - will move differently than dense and massive space rocks. Spectroscopy on the surface of 2020 SO can also determine whether it has titanium dioxide - the paint material used on space rockets.

Asteroid 2020 SO

The near-Earth asteroid designated as 2020 SO was first discovered by astronomers at the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS1) survey located at Hawaii's Haleakala High Altitude Observatory, September 17, 2020.

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Based on its trajectory upon discovery, scientists believe that it will be temporarily captured by Earth sometime around October 15, predicted to create a close approach by December 1. Also, at the time it was first discovered, its motion appeared similar to common main-belt asteroids, or those that come from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. However, as it approached, its behavior started to diverge from commonly expected behavior, leading Chodas to make the suggestion that it might be an old rocket part.

Check out more news and information about Asteroids in Science Times.