China's space station is about to plunge to Earth

Scientists say the debris from China's Thien Cung 1 space station may fall to Earth in the next few months.

According to the Guardian, in the past few weeks, the Thien Cung 1 space station , which has been in trouble since 2016, is crumbling and tends to plunge into the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

"Currently, it is about 300km from Earth and is descending into the atmosphere. I think it will crash into the Earth in the next few months, around the end of 2017 and early 2018," said Jonathan McDowell, a researcher. The famous astronomer of Harvard University, said.

Fragments of Heavenly Palace 1 will strike the atmosphere and crash into the Earth.(Photo: Getty).

Although most of the fragments from the Thien Cung 1 space station will burn in space, some parts with a mass of up to 100kg will plunge directly to Earth.

The possibility that these fragments can cause injury to humans is still being calculated. China has informed the United Nations Office of Space Operations (UNDOOSA) of its commitment to monitor the situation closely.

Thien Cung 1 is the first space station launched by China on orbit on September 29, 2011. This 8.5-ton space station welcomed two astronauts and successfully connected with three Chinese spacecraft.

Thien Cung 1 had problems and stopped working from March 3/2016. The station still revolves around Earth's orbit and loses altitude quickly, about 160 meters per day.

Earlier, UNDOOSA warned that China's 8.5-ton space station would fall between 43 north latitudes (latitude crossing Southern Europe) and 43 south latitudes (latitude passing New Zealand).

Graphic simulation of the orbit of Thien Cung 1 space station in June 2013.(Graphics: Wikipedia).

People are advised not to touch the debris as they may contain hydrazine corrosion, which is very toxic to humans. Some fragments of Thien Cung, once burned, can be observed with the naked eye.

In 1991, the Soviet Salyut 7 space station once plunged to Earth. Its fragments were determined to fall to Argentina, in which a few pieces of bad fire equipment were discovered in the town called Capitan Bermudez. No casualty reports are given.

A satellite from the US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) named Skylab also rushed into the atmosphere to return to Earth. Its fragments were determined to fall on the Indian Ocean and western Australia. A few fragments were discovered in southeastern Perth, Western Australia and a few other places.