Mystery object that washed up on Australian coast could be a piece of Indian rocket: Space experts
Melbourne (PTI): A dome-shaped mysterious object has washed up on a remote Australian beach, amid speculation that it could be from a 20-year-old Indian rocket that was used for launching a satellite.
The canister was discovered near the beach in Green Head in Western Australia (WA) about 250 kilometres north of the city of Perth on Saturday. When contacted by PTI, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sources confirmed receipt of a formal communication from the Australian Space Agency. However, they did not provide the details.
The bizarre-looking object has been declared a piece of space junk, while national agencies, including the Australian Space Agency (ASA), continue working to identify its origin.
The copper-coloured bulky cylinder, which stands taller than a human, appears to be damaged at one end and is covered with barnacles, indicating that it has spent a significant amount of time at sea before washing up.
"We are currently making enquiries related to this object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia. The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are liaising with global counterparts who may be able to provide more information," the ASA said in a series of tweets on Monday.
As the origin of the object is unknown, the community should avoid handling or attempting to move the object, it said, adding that if the community spot any further suspected debris they should report it to local authorities and notify the agency.
"We are committed to the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, including debris mitigation, and continue to highlight this on the international stage," the agency said.
In a statement, Western Australia Police said that it is believed the item is space debris and will be managed as such until it can be determined otherwise. However, a space expert says the object could be from a 20-year-old Indian rocket.
European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd said experts believed the item fell from an Indian rocket launching a satellite, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
"We're pretty sure based on the shape and the size, it is an upper-stage engine from an Indian rocket that's used for a lot of different missions," she said.
"Based on the amount of barnacles, it's probably not the one from this year," she said. She said it could be 20 years old, the report added.
"But at the same time, when it gets thrown around the ocean it does tend to look older than it would normally."
Boyd said the engine was designed to fall off after the launch.
"It takes a lot of effort to get up to orbit, so the first and second and third stage (engines) usually fall off and end up in the Indian Ocean, so it's probably come from that with the currents and washed up on the beach," she said.
Within an hour of the first media report on the unusual find, many social media users already came up with a theory the object was a piece of space junk from an Indian rocket, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.
Space experts agreed, with Australian National University astrophysicist Dr Doris Grosse and Flinders University space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman believing it was likely a fuel cylinder from the third stage of a launch by India's space agency, it said.
Some even theorised the debris could have come from a specific mission PSLV-CA C46 which launched in May 2019 and dropped some debris in the ocean to Australia's north-west and south-east, the report added.
Police earlier labelled the object as "hazardous" as they worked to identify if there was a risk to the community.
After analysis of the object, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the Chemistry Centre of WA found it posed no risk to the community. But Boyd said it was important people did not touch the object.
"It might still have some residual fuel and you just don't want to get people touching that," she said.
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said the object could end up at the WA Museum.
"I did make the observation this morning that perhaps this will be an addition to the Sky Lab pieces that we have in the museum and might add to our growing collection of space debris that seems to be collecting in WA," he said.
Space debris both man-made and natural has a habit of coming down in WA's vast outback, although it is rare for it to be found washed up on the state's 12,895 kilometres of coastline. Most famously, the Skylab space station came hurtling back to Earth in 1979, with pieces of the rogue station found in the most remote of outback locations in Balladonia, north-east of Esperance in WA's south.
The local council hit NASA with a USD 400 littering fine, which reportedly remains unpaid. But scientists with their eyes trained on the skies have also recovered fragments of space rocks which have made it through the atmosphere and slammed into the ground in WA's outback.
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Who is Umar Ilyasi, the Man who hosted RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat for closed-door meeting?
New Delhi: In a rare and widely discussed outreach, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat met over 50 Muslim religious leaders and scholars at Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday. The three-and-a-half-hour meeting was hosted by Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the Chief of the All-India Imam Organisation, and is being described by some as an effort to build bridges between India’s majority and minority communities.
But Ilyasi, who facilitated this high-profile interaction, is no stranger to public attention—or controversy. His political and religious statements over the years have drawn criticism from several quarters within the Muslim community, prompting fatwas, threats, and frequent allegations of pandering to majoritarian narratives.
The meeting with Bhagwat, which included representatives from Deoband Madrasa, the Chief Imams of Gujarat and Haryana, and the Grand Muftis of multiple states, was framed as a trust-building initiative. “We may follow different faiths, but we are all Indians,” Ilyasi told IANS, describing the dialogue as a platform to promote national unity and social cohesion.
However, many observers have noted that this is not the first time Ilyasi has aligned himself with positions that are seen as diverging sharply from mainstream Muslim sentiments.
Statements That Stirred Reactions
In 2017, speaking to reporters in Indore, Ilyasi called for a nationwide ban on cow slaughter and demanded that the cow be declared a national animal. While he also condemned mob lynchings related to beef consumption suspicions, his support for a uniform cow protection law was received critically within sections of the Muslim community, where beef consumption remains culturally and religiously permissible.
His support for the ban on mosque loudspeakers during a 2022 interview with ANI was another instance that did not sit well with several Muslim clerics and organisations. Around the same period, he controversially linked the Karnataka hijab row to interference from “foreign bodies and terror groups like Al-Qaeda,” saying such events were attempts to “malign the country.”
In March 2025, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, Ilyasi released a video urging Muslims not to offer prayers on public roads, calling instead for discipline and restraint in religious observances. While the appeal may appear practical to some, others saw it as aligning with growing pressure from right-wing groups who object to public prayers by Muslims.
The backlash against Ilyasi’s public statements has been strong and visible. In January 2024, after his visit to the Ram Mandir ceremony in Ayodhya, a group of muftis issued a fatwa against him, branding him a ‘kaafir’ (infidel) and demanding an apology. Ilyasi dismissed the criticism, stating bluntly that India is not an Islamic state and Sharia law does not apply here.
His earlier praise for Mohan Bhagwat in September 2022, calling the RSS chief the “Rashtra Pita” (father of the nation) and “Rashtra Rishi” (national sage), had sparked severe backlash and even death threats. Multiple reports confirm he received “Sar Tan Se Juda” (beheading) threats from within the Muslim community. Despite these, Ilyasi stood firm, publicly saying that those who could not tolerate his stand “should perhaps go to Pakistan.”
While Ilyasi holds the position of Chief Imam of the All India Imam Organisation, critics point out that the organisation is not widely representative of India’s diverse and decentralised Muslim religious leadership. Many prominent Muslim groups, including those from Deoband and Barelvi backgrounds, have either distanced themselves from his remarks or remained silent on his engagements.
He has also made headlines in the past with statements that left many confused. In one interview, he controversially claimed that Muslims are descendants of Lord Krishna, a remark that drew sharp reactions across religious lines and lacked theological grounding.
The recent meeting with the RSS, timed with the Sangh Parivar’s centenary celebrations and the 50th year of Ilyasi’s organisation, signals a broader strategy at play. While the optics may suggest communal harmony, critics say such outreach efforts often come with political subtext, especially when facilitated by figures with a record of leaning into government-aligned narratives.
During the Thursday meeting, according to sources, no specific issues such as the Gyanvapi case or hijab row were discussed. Instead, themes like national integration, social unity, and ongoing dialogue between communities were explored. Ilyasi later stressed that the meeting was not a conclusion, but a beginning of sustained engagement.
In the current climate of increasing religious polarization, the role of clerics like Umer Ahmed Ilyasi is bound to provoke debate. For some, he remains a divisive figure, whose positions do not reflect the broader concerns of Indian Muslims.
