Photo: Australian Space Agency
Authorities in Australia are trying to identify a large, cylindrical object that washed up on the shore of a remote beach near the small coastal town of Green Head.
"It's a sort of semi-cylindrical object, made of light carbon fiber material like lightweight resin," local resident Garth Griffiths told the Australian news outlet ABC. "[It's] sort of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) across by 2.5 to 3m (8.2 to 9.8 feet) long."
The Australian Space Agency said that the object is possibly debris from a rocket.
"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 agency wrote on Twitter.
European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd told ABC that the object could be part of an Indian rocket used to launch satellites into space.
"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," Boyd said.
Officials said that police will continue to guard the object while they try to identify what it is and who is responsible for removing it.