Why are some space watchers excited that the moon will be hit by space junk?
Experts say the moon will get hit by a three ton piece of space junk. There is some debate over who is responsible for this out-of-this-world garbage.
No matter who is to blame, the junk is expected to hit the dark side of the moon Friday morning, sending moon dust flying hundreds of miles and leaving a new crater. That new hole is expected to be anywhere from 33 to 66 feet wide.
Because this is hitting the far side of the moon, telescopes on earth will not be able to see the impact and NASA's lunar reconnaissance orbiter is also out of range. But the space agency says it's an exciting research opportunity.
Still, they predict it will take weeks or months just to find the impact site. That shouldn't be a problem since there is no weather on the moon. There is no erosion, so impact craters never go away.
This crash is starting a larger conversation about space junk. Initially, there was a debate over whether this leftover rocket stage was from a SpaceX launch or a Chinese mission. But the asteroid hunter who first spotted it says the real issue is that no one exploring space is very careful about the debris they leave behind.
Editor's Note: The following video was uploaded in Nov. 2021.