2023-11-18 11:14:05
For several months, SpaceX was suspected of being responsible for the crash of one of its rockets on the Moon, forming a new crater. Today, the real culprit has been found.
Since March 2022, scientists have been searching for the culprit behind a rocket crash on the Moon. Two craters 28 meters in diameter were then formed. Initially, it was SpaceX and one of its rockets which were singled out, before the studies carried out gave their conclusions. It would be a Chinese launcher which ultimately crashed on our satellite.
In the magazine The Planetary Science Journalresearchers from the University of Arizona concluded that the object floating around the Moon and which crashed was the Chinese Long March 3C launch vehicle, launched in 2014 during the Chang’e 5-T1 mission. .
However, the circumstances of the crash are not entirely clear. Measurements taken of the object which is still floating in space suggest that the propellant is counterbalanced by an unknown mass. Indeed, its trajectory is too regular with a pendulum effect which can only be explained if the propeller has a counterweight opposite the engine. This configuration would explain the appearance of two craters instead of just one. But this mass represents a gray area which will probably never be elucidated, researchers believe.
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