An empty SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket upper stage has crashed into the Moon near the Einstein crater at about 5,400mph, providing planetary geologists with a rare accidental collision to study lunar geology.
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage is believed to have crashed into the Moon after drifting in space for over a year, with probes expected to photograph the impact site for scientific data.
Recent space news covers a SpaceX rocket colliding with the moon, China's Tianwen-2 probe reaching a quasi-moon, a NASA deep space observatory hit by wildfires, and new astronomical discoveries including an exomoon and a sugar molecule.
A 4-ton SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage from a 2025 lunar mission is expected to crash into the Moon's western limb at 5,400 mph, highlighting growing concerns over lunar space junk as Artemis missions approach.
A 3,900-kg SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage is set to impact the Moon on August 5 at ~2:35 a.m. EDT, offering a rare observation opportunity for astronomers in the US and Canada to capture the lunar impact and resulting debris plume.
A defunct upper portion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, approximately the size of a five-story building, is projected to collide with the Moon near the Einstein Crater on Wednesday at over 5,000 mph. Scientists anticipate the impact could create a 17-meter crater, offering a rare opportunity for observation and surface study by NASA's LRO.
An upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, launched during SpaceX's Firefly Blue Ghost mission in January 2025, is projected to crash into the moon near the Einstein Crater on August 5 at 2:35 AM ET. Astronomers plan to observe this artificial impact to study dust movement and space debris hazards.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage, drifting since January 2021, is set to impact the Moon's Einstein crater on August 5, posing no immediate danger but underscoring the need for lunar debris management regulations as space activity increases.
Astronomers predict a Falcon 9 rocket upper stage from a January 2025 launch carrying Firefly's Blue Ghost and ispace's Hakuto-R lunar landers will impact the Moon on August 5, 2025 at 2:44 am ET. The 13.8-meter upper stage, tracked as 2025-010D with over 1,000 observations, will strike the near side at 2.43 km/s (5,400 mph) near Einstein Crater. While the impact will create a small crater, astronomers say there is no risk to any current lunar assets. The article notes this is not the first false alarm of this type and recommends launch companies dispose of upper stages in solar orbits to prevent future lunar contamination.
