Expert Expects 3 Tons of Space Junk to Hit Moon on Friday

A supermoon is seen over Belvoir castle in Leicestershire, England, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AP)
A supermoon is seen over Belvoir castle in Leicestershire, England, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AP)
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Expert Expects 3 Tons of Space Junk to Hit Moon on Friday

A supermoon is seen over Belvoir castle in Leicestershire, England, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AP)
A supermoon is seen over Belvoir castle in Leicestershire, England, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AP)

The moon is about to get walloped by three tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several tractor-trailers.

Low-orbiting space junk is relatively easy to track. Objects launching deeper into space are unlikely to hit anything and these far-flung pieces are usually soon forgotten. However, a handful of observers enjoy playing celestial detective on the side including US asteroid tracker Bill Gray.

SpaceX originally took the rap for the upcoming lunar litter after Gray identified the collision course in January. Then, he corrected himself saying the object was not a SpaceX Falcon rocket and that it will hit on Friday, March 4, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Gray said it was likely the third stage of a Chinese rocket that sent a test sample capsule to the moon and back in 2014. But Chinese ministry officials said the upper stage had re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up.

The US Space Command, which tracks lower space junk, confirmed on Tuesday that the Chinese upper stage from the 2014 lunar mission never de-orbited, as previously indicated in its database. But it could not confirm the country of origin for the object about to strike the moon.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics supports Gray’s revised assessment but noted that “the effect will be the same. It’ll leave yet another small crater on the moon”.

The moon already bears countless craters, ranging up to 2,500km (1,600 miles). Scientists expect the object to carve out a hole 10 to 20 meters (33 feet to 66 feet) across the moon, without affecting the missions currently working there.



Macron to Push for Ban on Social Media for Under-15s after School Stabbing 

France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)
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Macron to Push for Ban on Social Media for Under-15s after School Stabbing 

France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks during the presentation of the European Pact for the Oceans at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, French Riviera, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union regulation to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, the latest such violent attack that left the country reeling.

Macron said in an interview late on Tuesday that he hoped to see results within the next few months.

"If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait," he told the France 2 public broadcaster, hours after a fatal stabbing at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne.

Police questioned a 14-year-old student on Tuesday over the knifing of a 31-year-old school aide during a bag search for weapons.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament the incident was not an isolated case. Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people.

Writing on social media platform X after the interview, Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it," he wrote.

Macron's comments come amid a wave of measures in countries around the world aimed at curbing social media use among children.

Australia last year approved a social media ban for under-16s after an emotive public debate, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.

Although most social media do not allow children under 13 to use their platforms, a report by Australia's online safety regulator found children easily bypass such restrictions.