Mysterious object found on Australian beach could be space debris; Internet links it to Chandrayaan-3

The object was first reported to authorities by local resident Garth Griffith, who pulled the bulky metallic item out of the waters using his vehicle. He also informed ABC News about the discovery. The metal shell is around 10 feet long and 8 feet wide.

The object could be from an Indian rocket and this has stirred speculations on social media with many linking it to Chandrayaan-3, which was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 14.

According to Andrea Boyd, an engineer with the European Space Agency, her colleagues believe the item that washed up from the Indian Ocean fell from an Indian rocket while launching a satellite, Al Jazeera reported quoting Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“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,” Boyd told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The picture of the object that is circulating on the internet has created a divide on social media, with some claiming that the object has no connection to Chandrayaan-3 as it is thickly covered in algae and goose barnacles, which cannot accumulate in just three to four days. Whereas, other rumours suggest that the object could possibly be the debris of an Indian rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

 

Amid all the speculations, the Australian Space Agency is actively working to find out if there is a link between the object and the space launch vehicle. According to the UN Outer Space Treaty, if the origin of the object is confirmed, the Australian government will have to return the space debris to that country.