Washington, United States

On Friday, a wayward rocket stage is due to hit the moon and scientists are preparing to study the impact.

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It is expected that the rocket stage will collide with Hertzsprung Crater at 7:25 am EST (1225 GMT) on Friday, March 4.

According to Space.com, the Goldstone Solar System Radar near Barstow, California, will monitor the object.

Similarly, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will look for the effects of the crash on the Moon's exosphere - a thin gaseous layer - and later scan the lunar surface for impact craters.

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Bill Gray, an astronomer with Project Pluto, first reported the doomed debris. Gray initially claimed that the debris was from Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket, but later predicted that the object was a leftover piece of a Chinese rocket, specifically a Long March 3C that launched China's Chang'e 5-T1 moon mission.

However, China's foreign ministry rejected the claim.

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The tumbling rocket body that is moving at more than 5,500 mph (2.5km per second) will plough into the moon's surface at an angle, scattering debris and creating a crater that will measure 20 to 30 metres in diameter (65 to 100ft).

The crash will be similar to those that occurred during the Apollo program when the third stages of Saturn V rockets were intentionally steered into the moon.

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Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland planetary scientist Jeffrey Plescia explained that moon-smacking projectiles are more or less tin cans in both cases.

"The result is that a lot of the energy goes into crushing the projectile rather than excavating the crater," Plescia was quoted as saying to Inside Outer Space.

Plescia noted that Saturn V's third stages formed craters that are shallower than natural craters and have an asymmetric shape, due mostly to low impact angles.

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He explained that pre-impact images have already been taken by LRO's powerful camera system, so crater depth and other crash characteristics will be more reliably measured for the March 4 crash.

"The only uncertainty at the moment is the orientation of the booster with respect to the trajectory. It is spinning, but whether it is just turning in rotisserie mode or tumbling is not clear," Plescia said. "I would hope the Chinese actually know this and would be forthcoming."

(With inputs from agencies)