The meteor that injured 1,500 people "tried to return to space" in a particularly disturbing record

While visitors to the museum looked at a glass-covered meteorite - it suddenly opened without explanation and sparked rumors that the meteorite was communicating with his brother in space or trying to escape back there

The meteor that injured 1,500 people "tried to return to space" in a particularly disturbing record

In the video - the moment when the meteor exploded in the sky of Russia, causing about 1,500 casualties, February 15, 2013

Compared to the endless celestial bodies on Earth, the meteorite that landed in Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013 was quite small - only 17 meters in diameter. However, this little guy caused damages in excess of $ 15 million and injured about 1,500 people in his crash. From then on, a piece of it lies in the city's history museum and is presented to visitors. These and the staff of the museum were surprised this week when the glass shield that covers it suddenly opened for no apparent reason - which of course raised concerns that the celestial body was trying to escape back into space.

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The Chelyabinsk meteorite wants to return to space? (Provider: Irina Abramova)

Chelyabinsk meteorite wants to return to space (Photo: Irina Abramova, screenshot)

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The bizarre incident occurred on December 14 during the day. Excerpts from the security cameras posted on the web show how museum visitors walk around the exhibits as Chelyabinsk's meteorite analyst lies in the middle of the hall. At some point, the space rock's transparent cover rises, the alarm goes off and security personnel rush to the scene to put the cover back in place. Museum spokesman Yuri Bogtenkov said the management and museum staff have no idea what caused this incident. According to the team, the team has access to the remote control that lifts the dome, but all employees signed a statement saying they did not touch anything that was supposed to activate the dome. The museum director said he consulted with technology experts, who unanimously determined that the dome could not rise on its own.

Local media quickly raised the question that was also being asked by the staff: "Is this the meteorite's attempt to escape?" The head of public relations at the Southern Jurel Museum of History, Iber Woliv, commented: "We jokingly said that the meteorite's brother, Chelyabinsk 2, said goodbye to our space rock and he decided to respond." He added: "Laughter aside, the women who guard the meteorite are still shaking with fear."

Those who less believe the meteorite's longing theory for his brother are concerned that the incident may be an attempt by hackers to steal the meteorite or examine the museum's security system. Wilb rejected that possibility. "It is usually quite complex to raise the meteorite dome," he said. "At the end were four electric motors. The whole structure is heavy. There is an alarm system in place. It never happened that the dome just rose like that on its own." Museum Director Vladimir Bogdanovsky commented: "We were unable to determine the cause of the sudden rise of the dome. Happened and so far we haven't found the reason. "

Another museum employee, Ruslan Spin, denied that a potential thief was able to lift the lid using a remote control, adding that the equipment was tested and in good working order. "Only the staff has access to the remote control and none of the staff presses the button," he insisted. "Fortunately, nothing terrible happened. The meteorite remained intact, no panic was recorded, no one was injured. So we are working as usual. We will continue to investigate and try to pinpoint the fault." The Russian Ministry of Culture has in the meantime instructed the museum's management to examine the security systems on the premises.

The Chelyabinsk Meteorite is on display in the city's History Museum (supplier: Dennis Aleksandrov)

The Chelyabinsk meteorite is on display in the city's history museum (Photo: Dennis Aleksandrov, screenshot)

The Chelyabinsk meteorite crashed on Lake Chaberkol on February 15, 2013, causing extensive damage and approximately 1,500 casualties in the body and mind. The blast hit 3,000 buildings and shattered thousands of windows, but only later did the locals realize how lucky they were that the meteorite's path led to a fall in the lake. Since if he had hit a city with a population of 1.13 million, the death toll would have been huge.

Chelyabinsk meteorite after the crash (supplier: Chelyavinsk region's governor)

Chelyabinsk meteorite (Photo: Chelyavinsk region's governor, screenshot)