China denies responsibility for rocket set to slam into moon
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China says that it is not responsible for a wayward object that is expected to crash on the moon next month.
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China denies that the space junk in question came from its lunar exploration program
China denied on Monday its responsibility for a rocket that is set to slam into the moon. The space junk was said by experts to have likely come from the country's lunar exploration program.
At first, the object was thought to be a portion of a SpaceX rocket that blasted off several years ago and was abandoned in space after the completion of its mission.
It is now believed that the booster in question belongs to the Chang'e 5-T1 rocket, which was launched in 2014 as part of the Chinese space agency's lunar exploration program.
The rocket is expected to crash into the far side of the moon on March 4.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected these claims, saying that the booster "safely entered the Earth's atmosphere and was completely incinerated".
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said at a regular press briefing that Beijing "conscientiously upholds the long-term sustainability of activities in outer space."
