Rogue Rocket That Slammed Into Moon’s Far Side Is From China’s Chang’e 5-T1 Mission [Study]

Last year, a rogue rocket crashed into the moon, leaving a bizarre double crater on the lunar surface. According to astronomers, the rocket was part of a Chinese mission.

Rogue Rocket That Crashes Moon Identified

When a rocket struck the moon's far side on March 4, 2022, it created an odd twin crater roughly 95 feet (29 meters) broad. Astronomers had been watching the errant rocket for weeks and had predicted, with amazing accuracy, where and when it would fall into the lunar surface, so the disaster was not a surprise.

The impactor's identification, which astronomers assigned the designation WE0913A, remained a mystery. According to preliminary assessments, it may be the upper stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which was used to launch the DSCOVR satellite, an Earth-observing spacecraft, in February 2015. However, after more investigation, astronomers quickly decided on a different contender - the Long March 3C rocket's third and highest stage, which launched China's unmanned Chang'e 5-T1 mission around the moon in October 2014.

A University of Arizona (UA)-based team that reached that conclusion last year has now reinforced it to the point of finality.

"In this paper, we present a trajectory and spectroscopic analysis using ground-based telescope observations to show conclusively that WE0913A is the Long March 3C rocket body (R/B) from the Chang'e 5-T1 mission," the researchers, led by Tanner Campbell, wrote in a new study.

The new research also clarifies the unique crater left behind by the moon crash in March 2022.

According to Campbell, in a statement, this is the first time experts have witnessed a double crater in a lunar impact. He added that they were aware that the impact of Chang'e 5 T1 was nearly straight down, and two roughly equal masses separated from each other were required to generate those two craters of roughly the same size.

All they can conclude from the bizarre mass is that it is too large to be the conventional instrument deck carried by the third stage of the Long March 3C, which Campbell estimated to have weighed roughly 60 pounds (27 kilograms).

He added that they still have no idea what it could have been. It could have been an additional instrumentation, support structure, or something else entirely, or they probably won't ever find out.

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China on Long March 3C Rocket's Upperstage

China had already addressed the issue and denied it. According to Chinese officials, the upper stage of Long March 3C had already re-entered and burned up in Earth's atmosphere.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a regular press conference in February 2022 that the upper stage of the Chang'e-5 mission rocket had fallen through the Earth's atmosphere and burnt up completely. He also stressed that China is determined to keep the international law and is committed to safeguarding the longevity of its outer space activities.

However, a U.S. Space Command spokesperson said the Chang'e 5-T1 rocket never deorbited. However, at the time, they could still not confirm where the rogue rocket that impacted the moon came from.