Police used artificial intelligence to identify a piece of suspected space debris found in outback Western Australia, while space experts believe the object is probably part of a Chinese rocket launched last year.

Workers at BHP’s Jimblebar mine, which is about 40 kilometres east of Newman, found the burning object on an access road about 2pm on Saturday and phoned authorities.

WA Police Superintendent Les Andrews said mine workers initially thought they had come across the wheel of a plane.

“Through engagement with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, we determined that it wasn’t an actual component, or at least an identifiable component, of a known airplane,” he said.

“A few other suggestions were put forward, which proved incorrect, so I punched a photo into artificial intelligen

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