A rocket part expected to collide with the moon on March 4 was wrongly identified as a SpaceX Falcon rocket stage. More likely, the object was from a Chinese lunar mission, according to NASA.
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. A rogue rocket expected to collide with the moon on March 4 was wrongly identified as a SpaceX Falcon rocket stage and, instead, is likely from a past Chinese lunar mission, according to NASA.
The object now on target to hit the moon was first made public by Bill Gray, an independent researcher focused on orbital dynamics and the developer of astronomical software. He identified it in 2015 as the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon rocket, used that same year to launch the US Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR.The object, initially called WE0913A by asteroid spotters, had gone past the moon two days after DSCOVR's launch, he said.
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