At a Glance

The 9.4-ton Tiangong-1 Space Lab is likely to come plummeting to Earth sometime between March 30 and April 2.Where debris from the space station will land remains a mystery.The risk to humans is very slight, but scientists warn that no one knows for certain.

An impaired and out-of-control Chinese space station is expected tocrashto Earth sometime over the Easter weekend, but the exact landing location remainsa mystery.

For months, agencies have been tracking the progress of the Tiangong-1 Space Lab. While thetiming of the space station's re-entry is easier to determine, the location of the spacecraft's landing is much more difficult to predict.

Here's what we know about the space station's impending fall to Earth.

When and Where?

According to Space.com, the 9.4-ton Tiangong-1 Space Lab is likely toplummet sometime , according tothe European Space Agency's (ESA) Space Debris Office in Darmstadt, Germany.

An illustration showing details of the expected landing field parameters.

(Aerospace)

While an exact location is unknown, ESA scientists say the likely zone of re-entry will be somewhere between a large swath of the Earth's surface from 43 degrees north latitude, which lies just north of Buffalo, New York, and 43 degrees south latitude, which crosses New Zealand.

Are People in Danger?

Although the idea of a massive space station plummeting to Earth seems daunting,scientists say the likelihood that anyone will be injured or killed by debris from the bus-sized spacecraft after it passes through the atmosphere is remote. The most likely scenario is that any remaining debrisfrom Tiangong-1 willlandin the ocean or in unpopulated areas.

They do caution, however, that no one knows for certain.

According to Aerospace, the risk that an individualwill be "hit and injured by the reentry ofa generic space object."

"To put this into context, the risk that an individual in the U.S. will be struck by lightning is about one in 1.4 million," the company notes.

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Only one personhas ever been struck by falling debris. Lottie Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma,was from a rocket fuel tank fell on her shoulder while she was out for a walk.

Why Is It So Difficult to Predict Where It Will Land?

Aerospace says there are several reasons whypredicting the spacecraft's ultimate re-entry location is extremely difficult.

Variations in the density of the upper layers of the atmosphere and the orientation of the spacecraft over time impact the re-entry location.

Other factors include the "uncertainties in some physical properties of the spacecraft such as the exact mass and material composition and uncertainties in the exact location and speed of the space station."

Will the Re-entry Be Visible?

Depending on the location, time of day and weather conditions, it may be possible to see Tiangong-1 re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

The pieces of debris re-entering the atmosphere might look similar to the streaks of light that blitz across the sky during a meteor shower, although far more pronounced. Some streaks, or evenmultiple streaksof light moving in the same direction across the sky, may last for tens of seconds or even up to a minute or more. Most "falling stars" last for onlya fraction of asecond.

Aerospace notes that anyone who witnesses re-entry should , including any captured video or photos.

Has Something Like This Happened Before?

Yes. Tiangong-1's uncontrolled re-entry is in no way the first space object to come plummeting back to Earth, nor is it the largest.

More than , including debris from the controlled March 23, 2001, re-entry of the 132-ton MIR Space Station, whichwas much larger than the Chinese space lab.

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On July 11, 1979, the 76-ton U.S. Skylab came crashing to Earth. While NASA attempted to control the re-entry, some of the debris took longer to burn up than expected andlanded east ofPerthinWestern Australia. No injuries were reported.

What Happened to Tiangong-1?

The Tiangong-1 was China'sfirst space station and was launched into orbit in late-September 2011. Its mission was to test technologies that will be used for a more permanent Chinese space station planned for the mid-2020s.

It's been more than two years since the space station reportedly became impaired, although the Chinese have said little about the situation since.released March 21, 2016, declared that telemetry services on Tiangong-1 had ceasedto work.

Since then, agencies like ESAand private organizations like Aerospace have been trackingTiangong-1's progress.