Experts have identified the areas where an out-of-control Chinese space station could crash down in the coming weeks.
Launched in 2011, the 8.5-ton Tiangong-1 space laboratory, also known as “Heavenly Palace” has been gradually decaying and, in 2016, authorities admitted its functions were failing.
In the latest assessment, the U.S.-funded Aerospace Corporation said while it is impossible to plot exactly where the module will touch down, certain regions stand a higher chance.
Aerospace identified northern China, the Middle East, central Italy, northern Spain and the northern states of the US, New Zealand, Tasmania, parts of South America and southern Africa.
Tiangong-1 does not fly north of 42.7° N latitude or south of 42.7° S latitude on its current trajectory.
The Aerospace scientists believe China’s first space station will re-enter the atmosphere either in the last week of March or the first week of April. The European Space Agency has a wider window and says the module will come down between March 24 and April 19.
The report added that the chance of being struck by Tiangong-1 debris is about 1 million times smaller than the odds of winning the U.S. Powerball jackpot.
It added that only one person has ever been recorded as being hit by a piece of space debris and she was not injured.
