Investigating Mysterious Space Object Found on Remote Australian Beach
Key Highlights :
Authorities in Australia were investigating on Tuesday whether a cylindrical object about the size of a small car that washed up on a remote beach is space junk from a foreign rocket. The Australian Space Agency said it was liaising with other space agencies to identify the object, which appears to be partly made of a woven material.
Police had cordoned off the object after it was discovered at Green Head about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the city of Perth late Sunday. European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd said her colleagues believed the item that washed up from the Indian Ocean fell from an Indian rocket while launching a satellite.
"We're pretty sure, based on the shape and the size, it is an upper-stage engine from an Indian rocket that's used for a lot of different missions," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Whoever launched the object into space would be responsible for its disposal.
"There is a United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and they have an outer space treaty that everyone has signed saying that whoever launches something into space is responsible for it right until the very end," Boyd said. Western Australia Police said in a statement on Monday that a government chemical analysis had determined the object was safe and "there is no current risk to the community."
Authorities had earlier treated the device as hazardous and urged the public to stay away. Police said the device would be removed following formal identification of its origin. "Police will maintain security of the object until it is removed and members of the public are requested to stay away from the location," the statement said.
The discovery of the mysterious object has sparked a flurry of speculation as to its origin and purpose. Some have suggested it could be a piece of debris from a failed rocket launch, while others have speculated that it could be an alien spacecraft.
The Australian Space Agency is working to identify the origin of the object and ensure its safe removal from the beach. The agency is also working with other space agencies around the world to investigate the object.
The investigation into the mysterious space object is ongoing. In the meantime, authorities have urged the public to stay away from the location and allow the investigation to proceed. Once the object has been identified and its origin confirmed, it will be removed from the beach and disposed of in accordance with international laws and regulations.
