Debris from China’s largest rocket, the Long March 5B, is predicted to fall into Earth’s atmosphere this weekend, from May 8 to May 9.

The rocket was first launched on April 29 at Hainan Island in China. It was carrying what will be the living quarters for Chinese astronauts on the space station Tiangong. The base is set to be the first permanent space station owned by China and will send probes to the moon and Mars. The Long March 5B is the second of 12 rockets that will build the station and has now dropped off its section and is returning to Earth. However, because of the friction between the rocket and Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft’s journey back to Earth has been unstable.

There have been various predictions from multiple organizations around the world about when and where the remnants of the rocket will land. China’s foreign ministry reported that most of the rocket will not make it past the atmosphere and there is a slim chance of injury. 

The U.S. Space Force predicts that there will be four areas of re-entry into the atmosphere- three over water and one area over land between 7:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. EST. However, the exact reentry locations have not yet been chosen. 

The Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit organization that researches and analyzes space-related projects, announced that the rocket parts will re-enter on Saturday, 11:26 p.m. EST, over the North Atlantic Ocean.

by Kevin Lee