The object that will crash into the Moon in March did not come from a SpaceX rocket

The announcement caused a stir at the end of January: the second stage of a SpaceX rocket was to crash on the Moon in early March after wandering in space for several years. But the astronomers had actually misidentified their target.

A piece of rocket will indeed hit the Moon on March 4, but contrary to what had been announced, it is not a rocket from the American company, but rather a Chinese launcher, now say the experts.

Now designated: the stage of a Long March rocket that took off in 2014 for a mission named Chang’e 5-T1, as part of the Chinese space agency’s lunar exploration program.

The surprise announcement was made by astronomer Bill Gray, who first identified the future impact, and admitted his mistake this weekend.