Path of Falling Satellite: Warning Says 'Stay Away From Debris'
NASA’s defunct UARS satellite is expected to make its plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere sometime this evening, according to the space agency.
The spacecraft is expected to break into 26 pieces and land somewhere on the planet’s surface. NASA originally predicted that they will not end up in North America, however, a change in trajectory of the satellite has put North America back in the possible landing area of the satellite debris.
The debris from UARS will not be radioactive, according to Steve Cole of NASA’s Communications Department in Washington D.C.
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People encountering fallen space debris should call their local police “not because it’s dangerous but reporting should go through authorities,” explained Cole to The Christian Post.
The main concern for NASA when it comes to the debris is that people could get seriously hurt touching it.
After all, it is broken up metal that has entered and left the Earth’s fiery atmosphere.
The parts will undoubtedly be sharpened from the ordeal and could seriously injure and cut someone tampering with them.
Cole strictly warned against someone touching the parts, but according to him debris falling out of space happens at least once a year.
This kind of occurrence is not uncommon for NASA.
Experts previously predicted that Earth dwelling humans have a 1-3,200 of being affected by the falling UARS spacecraft.
NASA hopes and confirms that there is a good chance most of the parts will fall into oceanic areas since the Earth’s surface is 70 percent water.
The space agency recently reported that North America is not completely out of the picture when it comes to collecting debris from UARS.
There is still a slim chance American citizens may encounter some space junk.
NASA will post their predictions for the satellite part’s landing locations later on tonight.
According to Cole, they expect to be able to make a good estimate in roughly 8-10 hours.
