A large piece of space debris fell on Australia

Last month, Australian farmers discovered mysterious space debris scattered across their fields. The astrophysicist who examined these fragments now believes that they belong to SpaceX.

Residents near Dalgety, New South Wales, found three large pieces of debris, with the largest - a triangular structure 10 feet high - firmly driven into the ground, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

Traces of burns were found on the objects, which corresponds to the entry into the atmosphere, ABC reports.

Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist who examined the wreckage, said in a video that they are most likely fragments of the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft used during the Crew-1 mission in 2020. According to Tucker, some of the fragments have serial numbers.

Scientists knew that the wreckage of the Dragon spacecraft could fall in this area around the beginning of July, and these fragments "coincide well" with the trajectory of the barrel on July 8, astronomer Jonathan McDowell tweeted.

"I've been there myself and looked at the debris, I have no doubt that it's space debris," Tucker said in an interview. Space.com .

Sheep farmer Mick Miners discovered a 10-foot-tall object in his field on July 25, he told ABC. His neighbor, Jock Wallace, also found debris in his field a week earlier, and on July 9, residents of the area reported hearing a loud explosion, ABC reports.

Wallace first reported the discovery to the local civil aviation safety authority, which advised him to call NASA.

"I'm a farmer from Dalgety, what will I tell NASA?" Wallace said in an interview with ABC. Wallace said in an interview with ABC. 

He also said about the wreckage:

"If it had fallen on your house, it would have been a hell of a mess."

The Australian Space Agency and the New South Wales Police are investigating the objects to confirm their connection to spaceflight, ABC reported on Monday. 

"Eventually, SpaceX or at least the U.S. will have to make a statement about whether they want to keep it or return it or not," Tucker said, according to ABC.

Scientists warn about space debris

The risk of space debris falling on humans is negligible, and scientists can track large fragments of space debris from Earth to predict where they will fall. 

However, scientists are sounding the alarm about space debris, arguing that the problem will only get worse as space flights intensify.