Abandoned rocket ‘hits the Moon’ – scientists
Peter BirtwhistleA discarded part of a rocket should have crashed into the Moon's far side by now, say scientists who were expecting the impact at 12:25 GMT. The three-tonne rocket part had been tracked for a number of years, but its origin was contested.At first, astronomers thought it might have belonged to Elon Musk's SpaceX firm, and then said it was Chinese - something China denies.The effects of the impact on the Moon should have been minor.The rocket stage would have dug out a small crater and created a plume of dust.Scientists hope to get confirmation in the coming days, or weeks.The rocket part was first sighted from Earth in March 2015. A Nasa-funded space survey in Arizona spotted it, but quickly lost interest when the object was shown not to be an asteroid.The rocket part is wh...
