Six metal balls washed up on a beach in Australia this weekend. It probably concerns fuel tanks used for a rocket launch, but that is still being investigated.

The first three balls washed up on Forrest Beach in the North Queensland region in the northeast of the country on Friday. A fourth followed on Saturday and two more today. The mysterious objects caused a stir in the remote hamlet of just a few hundred inhabitants.

Acacia Griffiths was told to quickly evacuate with her three children because the objects were found 500 meters from her home, she told ABC. “I filled laundry baskets with children’s clothes and important papers to throw in the car. I was really worried.”

Meanwhile, emergency services responded in large numbers, with several fire engines, police officers and helicopters and drones searching the beach.

Ultimately, Griffiths decided to stay home so she wouldn’t have to abandon her livestock. The fire brigade soon reduced the barrier to 50 meters. It had now become clear that the balls were probably rocket parts, specifically the fuel tanks that are dropped after the first or second stage on the way to space.

“They are actually called space balls,” Australian space archeology professor Alice Gorman told The Guardian. “They can be found years after launch, I don’t think anyone saw them land.”

Despite that logical explanation, many Australians take the opportunity to joke about or an alien invasion. “Hey, Elon Musk, I think they found some of your parts,” someone tweeted to the American space entrepreneur. “Oops, I didn’t know I left my Christmas decorations on the beach,” joked another.

The Australian fire brigade can laugh less about the find, because if they are indeed fuel tanks, they were probably filled with hydrazine. This highly flammable and highly reactive substance, colorless with a clear ammonia odor, is toxic and possibly carcinogenic to humans and animals.

That is why the balls were removed under police guard by firefighters in protective suits. A spokesperson warns Australians(opens in new window) to stay away if they find any more of the balls and to call 911 immediately.

The Australian space agency ASA is currently trying to find out who exactly owns the balls. It is not the first time that this has been necessary: ​​in 2023, a piece of space debris washed up in Australia turned out to have come from India. Similar balls were also found in Namibia in 2011.