With so much “junk” floating around in near-Earth atmosphere, scientists have warned that more and more of it is likely to find its way to the surface.

Most pieces will be small and harmless, but as one Canadian farmer is learning, it could also be worth some cash.

Saskatchewan farmer Barry Sawchuk discovered the charred remains of a hunk of a spaceship in a field.

“We thought originally it was just garbage, but I had no idea. I don’t build spaceships for a living. I farm.”

He’s learned about it quickly, though, and figures maybe he can sell it for enough money to build a hockey rink in his town of Ituna.

If that’s not the most Canadian thing you’ve ever heard, I’m not sure what would be.

A group of astronomy reporters traced the massive piece of space junk to a SpaceX rocket.

Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell suggested it could be part of the Dragon spacecraft that returned four crewmen from the International Space Station earlier this year.

Statistically, space junk is most likely to splash down in the ocean, but in the past couple of years, people like an Australian sheep farmer and a private homeowner in Florida have recovered jettisoned pieces.

They do have the capability to harm or kill someone at the speed they’re going – even small pieces could do some serious damage.

Astronomy professor Samatha Lawler says that it’s definitely just luck that no one has been seriously hurt at this point.

“It’s really just luck. If that had hit in the middle of Regina or, yeah, New York City, it very easily could have killed someone.”

Experts have called for more rules around the matter, but the discussion is ongoing.

It seems like they might want to bump it up the chain of importance.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?