In just under a year there will be a Chinese space station returning to Earth. This Chinese space station has been reported as out of control and debris may even make its way to the ground, though only time will tell.
This Chinese space station is known as Tiangong-1, and it was launched into orbit back in 2011. With that being said, it stopped functioning properly in March of 2016 and it does not seem likely that the Chinese will be able to regain control before it makes its way back down to Earth. Since China lost control of this space station it has been slowly degrading thanks to the atmospheric drag.
We currently believe that this space station will be re-entering the atmosphere around October of 2017 and April of 2018. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the best guess is some time in January. It seems as if it may fall anywhere between Italy and New Zealand. While it is not likely that someone will be hit with debris, this is a risk that has to be taken into consideration. If any of the debris from this station makes its way to the ground it could contain a highly toxic and corrosive substance known as hydrazine that MUST NOT BE TOUCHED.
This is something that will continue to be monitored over the next few months as well as during its trip back into the atmosphere. Hopefully, over the next few months, we will be able to gain a better understanding of whether this cause for more alarm than assumed. Also for those who would be in the area of re-entry depending on the time of day burning debris may be visible in the sky.
This may turn out to be more interesting than you might think depending on what the months to come bring. For more information on this check out the video below. Enjoy!