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China claims rocket stage hitting the moon is not part of its 2014 lunar mission

Andrew Jones—February 21, 2022

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HELSINKI -- Rocket debris that was supposed to hit the moon in March is not related to the 2014 Chang'e-5 T1 mission, China's foreign ministry says.

"According to China's monitoring data, the upper stage of the rocket associated with the Chang'e-5 mission entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned up completely," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on February 21.

Space tracking data from Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron shows that object 2014-065B - the international designation for the rocket stage in question - entered Earth's atmosphere in October 2015, a year after launch, which appears to confirm China's claim.

The announcement adds more mystique to an event that has garnered everyone's attention since it was first reported that an object would collide with the moon.

Astronomer Bill Gray reported on January 21 that the object, designated WE0913A, was on a trajectory that led to a collision with the Moon on March 4. Gray initially associated the facility with the launch of the Falcon 9 Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) in February 2015.

However, on February 2, Gray revised the identification of WE0913A, suggesting that the upper stage of the Long March 3C rocket that launched the Chinese Chang'e-5 T1 in 2014, an object cataloged with the international designation 2014-065B, would be a better fit. "In a way, this remains 'circumstantial' evidence," Gray wrote, adding a caveat.

The Washington Post later reported on a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Center statement saying the object was likely a Chinese Chang'e 5-T1 launch vehicle launched in 2014. An independent spectral analysis conducted by students at the University of Arizona also claimed to confirm the object's identification as most likely belonging to the China mission.

The new data, if confirmed, highlights the problems of tracking objects in deep space. Gray notes in his reports that tracking debris in deep space has not been a "big problem" before, explaining that tracking U.S. Space Force is concentrated in lower orbits.

The radars that are used in basic observations can track objects as small as 10 centimeters in lower orbits, but telescopes are needed to track even large objects farther from Earth.

This event also highlights the importance of the sustainability of space operations in the future. Both the United States and a number of partners, as well as China and Russia, are planning related Artemis and International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) programs to ensure a long-term presence on the Moon.

Chang'e-5 T1 was a test mission for a more ambitious lunar sample return mission. A high-speed spacecraft was successfully tested "in a re-entry test" after returning from the Moon, confirming that the return capsule could safely deliver lunar samples to Earth.

The upper stage of the Long March 3C rocket for the mission also flew the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission for Luxembourg.

The full Chang'e-5 mission, launched in November 2020, collected 1.7 kg of fresh lunar samples from the Moon and brought them back to Earth in December 2020.

The upper stage of this mission, launched by a Long March 5 rocket, fell back into the Pacific Ocean a week after launch.

"China's aerospace efforts are always in line with international law," Wang said Monday when asked by The Associated Press about the impending moon impact.

"We are committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities and are ready for extensive exchange and cooperation with all parties."

The service module for the 2020 Chang'e-5 mission is currently testing a previously untested esoteric orbit around the Moon following an extended deep space mission.

Original source:

China claims rocket stage hitting the moon is not part of its 2014 lunar mission