1.5-tonne Nasa observatory to re-enter Earth today; debris may fall in India

File photo: Nasa's 1.5-tonne Swift space observatory is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday after 22 years, with some debris possibly falling over southern India.

NEW DELHI: A 1.5-tonne space observatory of Nasa is heading back to Earth on Wednesday after working in space for 22 years and some parts of its debris could fall in southern India. Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched in 2004 to explore the universe's most powerful explosions called gamma-ray bursts. When launched, the spacecraft was a first-of-its-kind multiwavelength observatory designed to study the most powerful explosions in the cosmos using its three telescopes. "US Space Force predicted that the spacecraft will re-enter the atmosphere at approximately 3:30 a.m. EST, Nov. 4, with an uncertainty of 11 hours," Nasa said on Monday. The US space agency expects most of the spacecraft to burn up as it travels through the atmosphere, but some components are expected to survive re-entry. Most surviving debris is expected to fall into the ocean. However, parts of India, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America could fall within the possible re-entry zone. The re-entry band spans between 20.6°N and 20.6°S latitude, which covers parts of southern India (including cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhubaneswar and Kochi). Isro has not said anything if it is tracking the descending space telescope. "If 70% of the Earth is ocean, 30% is land. So three out of 10 times it's on land, not ocean," Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist at Australian National University, told ABC News. The Nasa observatory was originally designed for a two-year prime mission.

However, the spacecraft was able to conduct science operations for more than two decades. Swift served as a multi-tool for exploring the universe, observing a wide range of light, rapidly pointing at short-lived outbursts, and sending alerts to other facilities to help coordinate follow-up observations. "The observatory has broadened our understanding of a wide variety of cosmic objects and events, from active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes and stars undergoing X-ray flares, to supernova explosions and comets and asteroids in our own solar system," Nasa said.