A large chunk of burning detritus discovered in the Pilbara desert of Western Australia appears to be space junk that reentered Earth's atmosphere, the Western Australia Police Force has announced.
Mine workers alerted emergency services after discovering the mystery object on October 18 on a remote access road about 30 kilometers (around 18 miles) from the mining town of Newman.
A multi-agency investigation involving the police force, the Australian Space Agency, and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services is now underway.
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Although a conclusive diagnosis is yet to be made, initial investigations all point to the object as part of a spacecraft. Australian space archaeologist Alice Gorman was quoted in The Guardian speculating it may even be "the fourth stage of a Jieling rocket" launched by China in September.
"Initial assessments suggest it's made of carbon fiber and consistent with previously identified space debris, such as composite-overwrapped pressure vessels or rocket tanks," the police force says in a statement on Facebook.
"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has ruled out any connection to commercial aircraft."
Composite-overwrapped pressure vessels are tanks used to contain high-pressure fluids in spacecraft.
The recovery of space debris is a relative rarity. A variety of safeguards limit the chance that any orbiting technology will end up on the ground, including planned controlled re-entry of obsolete spacecraft and construction from materials that burn in the atmosphere so that large pieces don't hit the ground.
In addition, Earth's surface is mostly water, so anything large enough to reach the surface is more likely to end up in the ocean than on land.
Indeed, a large piece of a spacecraft that landed in the ocean washed up on a Western Australia beach in 2023.
If you do find an object you suspect is space debris in Australia, the Australian Space Agency cautions you not to touch it, since space objects can contain hazardous materials. Instead, you should contact your local emergency services, who will then assess the object and investigate its provenance.
Exactly what spacecraft this particular object may have fallen from is currently unknown, but we likely won't have to wait too long for answers.
"The object has been secured, and there is no current threat to public safety," the Western Australia Police Force says.