The POTregardless of the rest of the space agencies, continues to be one of the great references in astronomical events. We were recently able to talk about the young Spaniard who has just been hired, in addition to the fact that they often share images that allow us to know more about the cosmos. But today we talk about something different, and that is that because a mistake during a mission, we can now see an astronaut’s backpack from Earthwhich has been left adrift and can be tracked thanks to the brightness it emits, even with something as simple as binoculars or a telescope.
A drifting backpack of tools will be visible for a while
Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara They are two astronauts who recently arrived at the International Space Station. Among its objectives, some related to the Artemis Missionwere to carry out a series of repairs on the ISS (or ISS for its acronym in English). During which is the first space walk by two women since 2020, and which lasted no less than two hours The following happened during the repair tasks of one of the devices.
Last seen by @Astro_Satoshi while floating over Mount Fuji 🗻 the ‘Orbital Police’ can confirm that the lost EVA gear is being tracked 🫡 pic.twitter.com/eksfu9fPFw
Dr Meganne Christian (@astro_meganne) November 5, 2023
In that fragment you can see how, accidentally, a tool bag comes loose from harness security and remains adrift, out of reach of the astronauts and that can still be seen thanks to the brightness that emits. Obviously, the main concern is that the object can pose a risk to the station, by being able to crash into it. However, mission control has been able discard it completely and ensure that it does not pose a danger to the space facility.
How can you see the backpack?
The object has been cataloged with the code 58229/1998-067WC. The object thus officially forms part of the space junk around Earth, although it will only be temporarily. The reason for this “expiration date” is that it is in a stable orbit until reentry from the bag, at which point it will be completely incinerated without leaving a trace.
Until then, just locate the coordinates of the International Space Station (you can do it through AstroViewer) and look in direction to the route to follow to see the shine of the backpack.
