NEED TO KNOW
A pile of space debris was found burning near a mine in the Australian outback on Oct. 18
Police said the object’s characteristics were “consistent with known space re-entry debris”
It is unclear what kind of space debris fell and why
A pile of space debris was recently found burning near a mine in the Australian outback, and there are many questions about its surprising return to Earth.
Workers at a Pilbara mine site called emergency services on Saturday, Oct. 18, after discovering the burning pile of debris around 2 p.m. local time, according to Australia’s 9News and ABC News.
West Australia police said in a statement that the object is not believed to have come from a commercial aircraft, but rather “a composite-overwrapped pressure vessel or rocket tank” consistent with “aerospace components.”
“The object remains under investigation, though its characteristics are consistent with known space re-entry debris,” police said.
“Further technical assessment will be undertaken by engineers from the Australian Space Agency to assist in identifying its nature and source,” they added.
Police said the burning object was secured and currently poses no threat to the public, according to ABC News.
WA Police
Space debris found in Australia
It remains unclear where the debris came from. Alice Gorman, an archaeologist, author and associate professor at Flinders University, told The Guardian that the object “seems to be the fourth stage of a Jielong rocket,” referring to a Chinese rocket.
“There was one launched in late September,” Gorman said. “If it is the one from the 25th, that means it’s been orbiting the Earth for a bit and then came out of the blue.”
It is not uncommon for space agencies across the globe to dump debris into the Earth’s atmosphere.
“It is on purpose that this bit of rocket body has landed back,” Matt Woods of the Perth Observatory told 9News, “but it could just be the way that it’s been tumbling that this piece was able to survive.”
However, Gorman told The Guardian that “there was no indication” that this specific piece of space junk “was going to re-enter” the atmosphere when it did.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“When I went to look for re-entry predictions I couldn’t find anything,” she said, “which is an indication of the suddenness of it.”
Police and fire officials, as well as the Australian Space Agency, are investigating the incident, according to ABC News.
Read the original article on People