ISRO experts to examine unidentified objects that crashed into Maharashtra's Chandrapur

Experts from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have taken it upon themselves to inspect the unidentified object which crashed in eastern Maharashtra's Sindewahi tehsil of Chandrapur district on the night of April 2. A team of two scientists from the space agency visited the crash sites on Friday which were struck by a giant metal ring and six cylinder-like objects. While the source of these objects is still unclear, many claim that the debris is part of China's Chang Zheng 3B rocket. 

The matter came to light when Chandrapur district collector Ajay Gulhane revealed that locals spotted an iron ring lying in an open plot in Ladbori village. "It is a cylinder-like thing measuring 1 to 1.5 feet in diameter. It has been collected for examination. We had sent talathis (junior revenue officials) to every village in the district to find if more parts of objects, if any, are lying scattered", he told PTI. 

In addition to the giant ring, the locals also spotted a cylinder-like object in the Pawanpur village, followed by the discovery of five more such cylinders in the area. In a Facebook post, ISRO said, "As requested by the district administration, a team of scientists from ISRO is visiting Pawanpur for inspection and further scientific inquiry".

Are the objects part of a rocket?

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who was keeping a track of the debris' trajectory said that the fallen ring "is consistent with being part of the CZ-3B third stage tankage". In a thread of tweets, McDowell shared a picture of the Chinese rocket on the launch pad before its launch in 2021 and informed that the fallen parts are the third stage of the Long March 3B rocket. He also shared a layout of the rocket stages which re-entered Earth due to the atmospheric drag. 

However, the Geological Survey of India at Nagpur said they could comment on the nature of the objects only after a thorough examination. The two ISRO experts were accompanied by Suresh Chopane, who heads Skywatch, a group of astronomy enthusiasts, in the inspection of the objects which are currently kept at the Sindewahi police station.

(Image: @planet4589/Twitter)