Worry, early fall to Earth from space station

The structure weighs about eight tons and has been approaching the planet for several months. Scientists fail to decipher the exact date and place of its impact.

The year 2017 was filled with interesting asteroid sightings and space "accidents" that gave millions of people a reason to look at the sky; but the biggest threat from outer space in 2018 could be man-made, the New York Post warned Monday.

China's Tiangong-1 space station has been completely out of control for months, and space agencies around the world expect it to crash into Earth in early 2018. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly when or where this huge piece of space junk will fall.

Tiangong-1, which means "Celestial Palace", received several Chinese astronauts during its brief life, but after its mission ended in 2016, the Chinese space agency revealed that it had lost communication with that ship and that its orbiting would eventually lead to it plummeting to Earth.

Scientists who have been monitoring the problem tried to predict where it might hit, but have only been able to reduce it to an area between 43 degrees north and 43 degrees south. Most of that area is covered by the ocean, but there is still a 1-in-10 chance that debris will land in a populated area, which could damage structures and/or people.

The space station weighs about eight tons and, although much of the material will burn due to friction with the Earth's atmosphere, thousands of kilos of debris are expected to survive re-entry. Unable to control where or when the device re-enters, it is impossible to predict the exact location where debris will land.

According to a frequently asked question about Tiangong-1, the actual impact of the remains may not be the most dangerous part of its fall to Earth. Potentially hazardous materials, including hydrazine, a highly toxic chemical used in rocket fuel, could survive a return to the planet. If any human or animal comes into contact with that substance, it could suffer very dangerous effects.

The spacecraft is expected to finally fall to Earth at some point in March, although observers have only been able to reduce its descent date to a two-week interval, which is not particularly reassuring.

When it finally begins to fall, scientists will have very little time to predict the area of impact, but they can be sure that all space agencies on the planet will monitor it closely.