Next time you see a bright object in the sky, don’t assume it to be a star. Two astronauts of NASA reportedly lost a toolbox while on a spacewatch outside the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts, Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, were on a space mission when they later discovered they left behind something into the nothing space.
According to NASA, the white and bright toolbag was not required by the astronauts for the spacewalk so no action was taken by Mission Control. It said, “Flight controllers spotted the tool bag using external station cameras. The tools were not needed for the remainder of the spacewalk. Mission Control analyzed the bag’s trajectory and determined that the risk of recontacting the station is low and that the onboard crew and space station are safe with no action required.”
If you are also wondering about the lost alone toolbag then as per EarthSky.com, the tool bag is circling the Earth slightly ahead of the International Space Station about 250 miles above the Earth. It shines at about magnitude +6, little beyond the unaided eye’s limit of sight. The white, brilliant tool bag would most certainly linger in space for a few months before disintegrating.
On November 1, two NASA astronauts embarked on their first spacewalk around the International Space Station to do routine maintenance. The astronauts, Maj. Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, worked outside the station for six hours and 42 minutes, removing a handle bar fixture and repairing a bearing.
It was not the first time when astronauts treated space as a dumping ground. According to the European Space Agency, there are more than 35,000 trash objects in orbit, including grease guns and bolts, as well as thousands of tiny “debris objects” floating in space that are not tracked and pose the ability to damage satellites.