An asteroid that orbited near Earth for a few months as a mini-moon may be a chunk of the moon that was blasted off by an impact thousands of years ago.

Before concluding that 2024 PT5 was a fragment of the Moon, scientists needed to rule out the possibility that it was simply space debris, such as an old rocket part or a piece of human-made material.

“It’s a little piece of fabric, but it was from the first plane that ever flew a person in history and then it also went to the moon,” said ... works to develop an exhibit around Neil ...