Harvard’s Avi Loeb Says Earth's Temporary Mini-Moon Sar2901 May Not Be Of Natural Origin; Here’s Why

Sar2901 has been designated Earth’s momentary mini-moon. The true nature of the celestial object has intrigued astronomers world wide. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has raised the chance that Sar2901, captured in Earth’s gravity, may very well be synthetic moderately than pure in origin.

In his newest Medium put up, Loeb pointed to the thing’s uncommon orbital historical past. He famous that Sar2901 handed near Earth between April 10 and 20, 1970, a window that overlaps nearly precisely with the Apollo 13 mission. The oxygen tank explosion on April 13, 1970, blew off an exterior panel from the spacecraft’s Service Module. The incident was photographed by the crew on the time. Loeb argues within the weblog that Sar2901 may very well be that very panel, or alternatively one among 4 panels jettisoned from the Apollo 13 Saturn V third stage throughout routine lunar module extraction.

Is the Mini-Moon Sar2901 a Lost Panel from Apollo 13?

This text is pretty correct, but it surely has been overtaken by occasions. Now (with nonetheless actually not sufficient knowledge) 1971 is disfavored, however Luna 5 or Ranger 9 are nonetheless potentialities.

Will need to have extra knowledge !https://t.co/oAkl5J3LNz

— Area Initiatives (@AsteroidEnergy) September 5, 2026

Sar2901: Classification Conundrum

The Minor Planet Center flagged the ambiguity itself on September 2, stating the thing’s orbit is in step with both a mini-moon or a man-made object. Sar2901 has since pale from view and will not be observable once more till mid-to-late November 2026, when astronomers hope to measure non-gravitational forces appearing on its path. This may even assist refine its classification. In his weblog, Loeb cited anecdotes of comparable objects like J002E3 & 2020 SO that defied astronomers earlier.

J002E3 & 2020 SO

This object was noticed in 2002, which was later confirmed by means of spectroscopy to be the Apollo 12 rocket’s S-IVB stage, its floor matching titanium dioxide paint. Equally, 2020 SO turned out to be a Centaur higher stage from NASA’s 1966 Surveyor 2 launch, recognized by its chrome steel spectrum.

Sar2901: 56-Yr-Previous Area Particles or One thing Else?

Scientist Marshall Eubanks first floated the Apollo-era timing coincidence, in keeping with Loeb’s put up. Loeb stated distinguishing decades-old house particles from a real asteroid would require exact orbital back-integration and spectroscopic follow-up matching Apollo-era supplies, since a light-weight metallic panel responds much more strongly to photo voltaic radiation stress than a stable rocky physique of comparable brightness. Till then, he stated, Sar2901’s id stays an “intriguing coincidence.“

Sar2901’s id, whether or not it’s Apollo 13 panels or unrelated pure asteroid that occurred to move by across the identical time, will not be but resolved, and would wish both higher orbital back-integration knowledge or spectroscopic follow-up making an attempt to match reflectance in opposition to Apollo-era supplies, to maneuver its detection from an “intriguing coincidence” to a standing of “confirmed identification.”

The temporary mini-Moon Sar2901 has come close to the Earth in the past, notably April 10 – 20, 1970.

May Sar2901 be the panel ejected by the Apollo 13 explosion April 14, 1970 at 0300 GMT?

(Listed here are 2 views of Sar2901 at the moment, & its observe out of the Earth-Moon system.) pic.twitter.com/JXlXZD7KeF

— Area Initiatives (@AsteroidEnergy) August 21, 2026