It’s been two weeks since a chunky metal ring crashed into a village in Kenya, but authorities still can’t pinpoint where it came from. The falling object raises concerns about how difficult it will be to track space debris—and hold those responsible accountable.

The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is still investigating the origin of a mysterious thing that fell from the sky to Mukuku Village in Makueni County in the early hours of Monday, December 30, 2024. However, for now, the origin of the oval-shaped fragment remains a mystery. Although it was initially believed that the ring was thrown by space debris, there is little evidence linking it to a specific rocket or satellite.

The metal ring is approximately 8 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter, and weighs about 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms). Early investigations suggested the object was a separation ring—a component used to connect payloads to rockets during launch, ensuring they are placed in orbit before the ring falls back to Earth. Separation rings are generally designed to burn up upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, or break up into small fragments that fall into uninhabited regions of the ocean.

In a statement Posted by X, the Kenyan space agency denied rumors that the Indian Space Research Organization was responsible for the matter, rejecting claims that the village residents had been charged. “The Kenya Space Agency and the relevant authorities are handling the matter to ensure a thorough and proper investigation. We advise the public to remain cautious about such reports and wait for official findings, ”KSA’s letter to X.

Another culprit later nameditem 33155 (2008-034C), an Ariane SYLDA adapter from flight V184. SYLDA is a hollow shell placed on top of a payload so that another payload can be placed on top, and this particular one was launched on July 7, 2008. After its launch, SYLDA was left in a geostationary transfer orbit and it was reported that re-entered on December 30 (the same day as the ring incident), according to the Space Force’s orbital tracking unit.

Again, this is just speculation. “The Space Force’s ability to track objects at such low inclinations is not good when objects reach a low-altitude orbit, which explains the lack of tracking over the last week,” the Harvard- Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, an expert in space tracking, WRITES in a blog post. “This means we can’t be sure when and where it was returned, especially if the Space Force estimate is just an extrapolation of data from a week ago.”

The lack of evidence prompts McDowell to question whether this object fell from space. “It has been suggested that the ring is space debris, but the evidence is slim,” he added. “I’m not entirely convinced the ring is space junk.”

Marco Langbroek, a professor of astrodynamics at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, agreed that the metal ring probably did not come from the Ariane rocket’s SYLDA adapter. That said, he points to other evidence that suggests it’s space debris. “In addition to the metal ring in the photos, other fragments that look consistent with space debris, for example what looks like carbon wrap and isolation foil, were found a few kilometers from it,” Langbroek WRITES in a blog.

The ongoing mystery of where the metal ring came from highlights the growing risk of falling space debris, the origin of which is sometimes difficult to trace. In March 2023, a two-pound cylindrical object crashed into the roof of a house in Florida. The matter later identified as a fallen piece of a large pallet of old batteries that NASA launched from the International Space Station in March 2021, sending it flying through the Earth’s atmosphere. The family whose home was affected sued NASA for property damage. If the space debris is not removed, however, then there are likely no effects of any damage done.

On average, 200 to 400 man-made objects re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere every year, so the chance of space debris ending up in inhabited areas is small, but still not zero. The regulations that govern these types of incidents are not entirely robust. The 1972 Liability Convention states that the launching nation is liable to pay for any damage caused by the object in its space, whether in orbit or on Earth. However, the convention stipulates that a company or institution is only liable for space debris if it is negligent in some way, but it fails to define what constitutes negligence in that case.

Things become less clear when it comes to unclaimed pieces of remains, as seen in the mysterious ring that fell in Kenya.