Astronaut finds 'bullet hole' in ISS solar panel

Moscow, April 30 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A small object, possibly a meteoroid, has pierced a solar panel on the International Space Station, leaving a "bullet hole", Canadian astronaut and Expedition 35 commander Chris Hadfield has said.

"Bullet hole - a small stone from the universe went through our solar array. Glad it missed the hull," Hadfield wrote in his Twitter blog, revealing a photo of the damage he took during a recent EVA or "space walk" around the ISS.

However, experts believe the hole was probably caused by a random object, possibly space junk, which would not have been able to penetrate the layers of the station's hull.

Jim Scotti, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, said: "It's unlikely this was caused by a meteor, more likely a piece of man-made space debris in low Earth orbit."

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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