Renegade Chinese space craft due to hit Earth within days

A Chinese space station carrying toxic fuel is expected to crash through Earth’s atmosphere within days.

The European Space Agency (ESA) predicted the out-of-control Tiangong-1 to come crashing down some time between March 24 and April 19.

But new analysis has brought the impact date forward to the middle of this month.

The first images of Tiangong-1 – which translates to ‘Heavenly Palace’ – return journey have been captured by an Italian astronomer.

Gianluca Masi, of the Virtual Telescope Project, photographed the space craft streaking over the night sky of Rome last Thursday

While its toxic contents are expected to be burnt up on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere, wreckage will be widely spilled on impact.

And to complicate matters, there is no firm idea where the space station will crash down.

The ESA has narrowed it down to the northern hemisphere – still a huge land mass.

Possible locations include the northern US, parts of Southern Europe, China and the Middle East.

Wherever it hits, people are being urged by experts to avoid any wreckage – just in case any toxic materials survive re-entry.

“For your safety, do not touch any debris you may find on the ground nor inhale vapours it may emit,” the US Aerospace Corporation warned. 

Any debris would fall within an area of a few hundred square kilometres, the research organisation predicted.

However, the chance of anyone being hit by parts of the space station were miniscule.

The Tiangong-1 station was launched in 2011 by China, eager to join the space superpowers.

Two years ago scientists said they had lost control of the space station and would be unable to perform a controlled re-entry.