NASA Satellite to Hit Earth 'Between Canada and South America' This Weekend
It may not be safe to walk around outside this weekend as pieces from NASA’s UARS satellite are expected to descend into the Earth’s atmosphere, according to officials at NASA.
UARS is around the size of a city bus, and parts from the defunct satellite are scheduled to plummet down to Earth around Friday, according to NASA’s latest projections.
UARS is expected to break apart when it reaches Earth’s atmosphere and according to NASA experts, there is only a 1-3200 chance that some of the parts could actually hit someone.
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“Re-entry is expected Sept. 23, plus or minus a day” NASA officials wrote in an update posted on Sunday.
NASA is expecting 26 large pieces of the satellite to survive entrance into the Earth’s atmosphere but the space agency is unsure of just where they will land.
NASA has stated that the parts should fall somewhere in between Canada and southern South America.
Since 75 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in ocean, there is a good chance that these pieces of UARS will not end up on someone’s front lawn.
UARS is 35 feet long and 15 feet wide and has been falling faster than originally anticipated by experts at NASA.
The space agency attributes the speeding up of UARS falling to increased solar activity which can cause the Earth’s atmosphere to heat and expand, increasing pull on low-flying spacecraft.
The U.S. Strategic Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and NASA are currently watching UARS closely, but both agencies will not be able to make a prediction on its point of impact until around two hours before it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
Parts from this satellite could do serious damage to property, and obviously has the potential to hurt and kill civilians in the area where it will crash.
If any parts are discovered by civilians after they hit Earth, the U.S. Military and NASA are advising people not touch them.
