Tool bag doesn’t pose a threat to the International Space Station, NASA says 

Looking into the night sky can be breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

There are shooting stars, galaxies being born, solar and lunar eclipses and so many other dazzling cosmic phenomena.

Oh, and then there’s a bag of tools. 

That’s right, since Nov. 1, a tool bag has been floating around the Earth.

It was lost during routine repairs at the International Space Station.

How did a tool bag end up in space?

NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara were making repairs during a six-hour spacewalk when they lost the tool bag by accident.

Flight controllers spotted the tool bag with cameras outside of the space station. 

After some analysis, NASA’s Mission Control determined that the risk of the tool bag colliding with the space station was low and no action was needed to recover it. 

It, like other space debris, has been cataloged and will be tracked to make sure it doesn’t pose a threat. 

The tool bag has been added to the catalog under the name 58229/1998–067WC.

Paul Delaney, an astronomy professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario, said that like most space junk, it will eventually be pulled into the Earth’s atmosphere.

You don’t have to worry about it falling to the Earth and landing on your head, though.

He said it will burn up and disintegrate, likely within a few months. 

But before that happens, you might be able to catch your own glimpse of it.

“The tool bag is below naked eye visibility but within range of binoculars,” Delaney told CBC Kids News in an email. 

He said, however, that you need to know where to look. Certain apps may be able to help you find the tool bag in the night sky. 

The clearer the sky, the easier it will be to see it.

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