During his snorkeling excursion in Honduras last August, Mike Irmen anticipated exploring beautiful underwater ecosystems, but he was surprised to uncover a fragment of a rocket.

Irmen, an aerospace engineer from Dayton, Ohio, took to Reddit to share his unexpected find after a day of vacationing with his family at the Cochino Cays Marine Sanctuary, a celebrated Marine Natural Monument situated near Roatan. Their choice of Honduras was inspired by recommendations from Irmen’s colleagues highlighting the area’s exceptional scuba diving.

“The snorkeling spot we picked was reportedly great,” he remarked to YSL News. The family arranged a boat rental, engaged a guide, and gathered their snorkeling equipment.

The boat docked at an uninhabited island stretching about 200 yards. Before diving in, Irmen’s daughter showed interest in exploring the island. He described it as sparsely populated, featuring only a few trees and a deserted hut. From the hut, he spotted a significant piece of “debris on the ground.”

Given his expertise in aerospace engineering, Irmen quickly identified the object as carbon fiber. “The materials like fasteners and bolts were distinctive, which suggested a link to aerospace,” he explained. “That made me think it must be something related to rockets.”

After returning home, he shared images of the debris on the subreddit r/space, believing it to be part of a rocket.

The next morning, Irmen was amazed to find that his post had gone viral, accumulating over 57,000 likes and close to 1,400 comments by Tuesday afternoon. “Overall, it’s been an exciting experience,” he noted.

In the images, a logo displaying “Arianespace,” a launch company rooted in France, can be seen on the debris. Arianespace has yet to respond to requests for comments from YSL News. The debris may belong to a rocket’s fairing, which serves as a protective shell during takeoff before being jettisoned as the rocket ascends.