http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/03/china-moon-rocket-village-destroyed_n_4376222.html
Chinese Space Rocket Debris Falls To Earth And Wrecks Villagers' Houses Huffington Post UK December 3, 2013 China's recent blast-off of it's first ever lunar landing mission may have marked a watershed in the country's galactic ambitions - but try telling that to villagers in Suining. What appears to be debris from the 'Jade Rabbit' launch fell to Earth and wrecked a couple of houses. A resident told the Xiaoxiang Morning Post: "Three of the roof beams have crashed down on our house, and a big hole has been punched into our barn." [Photo of large hole in roof with large rocket nozzle on floor] Another said: "The huge sound scared the living daylights out of me." Authorities paid around £1,100 in compensation to those affected. Worryingly this is not the first time it has happened. The county has been hit by debris nearly 20 times since the 1990s. [Closeup photo of roof damage] The unmanned Chang'3 3 lander and the Yutu rover lifted off atop a Long March 3D rocket early on Monday morning, local time, from the Xichang launch centre in Sichuan province. [Photo of smaller piece of rocket debris] China aims to land the craft on the Moon by mid-December, becoming the first man-made object to safely land on our only natural satellite for 37 years. Using landing rockets the craft will hover about 100m from the surface, before picking a good landing spot using automated systems, and slowly descending. The last craft to land on the Moon was the Luna 24 robot, sent by the Soviet Union in 1976. ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
