Revealed! Mysterious object found on Australian beach is debris from Indian rocket

In mid-July, a mysterious and huge object was noticed on a beach near Perth, Australia. Initial theories suggested that the object was "space junk". Now, officials have identified the mysterious object as nothing but debris from an Indian rocket.

The barnacle-covered object is easily the size of a small car. Read on to know more about it.

The mysterious space object was found at Green Head, a town which is about 250 km/155 miles from Perth, the capital of Western Australia.


The object was earlier being guarded by the police, though it did not pose a risk to anyone. The gold-hued canister measures around 2.5 meters long and 2.5 meters wide, and is now in storage.

The Australian Space Agency has revealed the object was "most likely" to be “debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle".

This kind of medium-lift launch vehicle, the PSLV, is operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The third stage of the vehicle is catapulted at an altitude of 264 miles.

Sky News reports the Australian Space Agency as saying that officials from India and Australia are working together to "provide further confirmation to determine next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties".

Garth Griffiths, a local, told ABC News that it was a local lady and her partner who discovered the object. It was “just floating on the edge of the water and dragged it out with their four-wheel drive," he said, adding, "There were barnacles and marine life growing on it."

FAQs

Q1:What was the mysterious object found on an Australian beach?
The mysterious object found on an Australian beach was debris from an Indian satellite launch vehicle.

Q2:Did Elon Musk’s rocket crash in Australia?
In 2022, a space object was found in Australia when debris from Elon Musk's SpaceX craft came crashing into a farm in New South Wales.