The mission titled ICUBE-Q will be launched on board China's Chang'E6 from Hainan
Australia's space agency has concluded that the dome-shaped object that washed up on a remote Australian beach last month is most likely debris from an expended Indian rocket, amid speculation over the origin of the mysterious canister.
On July 15, the object was discovered near the beach in Green Head in Western Australia, about 250 kilometres north of the city of Perth.
"We have concluded the object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by @isro," the Australian Space Agency tweeted on Monday.
The space agency also said that "the debris remains in storage and it is working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who will provide further confirmation to determine the next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties."
According to the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, countries are required to return any 'foreign' space objects found in their territory to the owners, as reported by an international media outlet.
The agency further tweeted:
Space debris — both man-made and natural — has a habit of coming down in WA’s vast outback, although it is rare for it to be found washed up on the state’s 12,895 kilometres of coastline.
Most famously, the Skylab space station came hurtling back to Earth in 1979, with pieces of the rogue station found in the most remote of outback locations in Balladonia, north-east of Esperance in WA’s south.
The local council hit NASA with a USD 400 littering fine, which reportedly remains unpaid.
But scientists with their eyes trained on the skies have also recovered fragments of space rocks that have made it through the atmosphere and slammed into the ground in WA’s outback.
ALSO READ:
The mission titled ICUBE-Q will be launched on board China's Chang'E6 from Hainan
As the climate warms due to the burning of fossil fuels, heatwaves are lasting longer and reaching greater peaks as average temperatures rise
Schools in Delhi-NCR that received threat emails closed as a precaution; children sent home
Around nine schools have received bomb threats so far, according to a Delhi Fire official; search operations underway
Demonstrators had vowed they would fight any eviction as they protested the soaring death toll from Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip
The vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'
Lawyers from two countries clashed at the court this month, with Nicaragua saying Germany was 'pathetic' for providing weapons to Israel and aid to Gazans
The US Secretary of State observed Jordan's efforts to bring in food and supplies