The Korean probe "Danori" takes pictures of the crater when a SpaceX rocket collided with the moon

According to Korea Space Research Institute officials, the Korean lunar probe "Danori" began its monitoring half an hour before the collision, and passed over the collision site several times, taking 8 photographic sessions.

The images showed clear changes in the terrain and the spread of debris and ejected materials around the crater site, providing scientists with a unique opportunity to accurately analyze the impact of the collision.

The Falcon 9 rocket was launched in January 2025, carrying two special landing vehicles into orbit around Earth. After the two vehicles reached the moon, one of them succeeded in landing, while the other crashed during its attempt.

The upper stage of the rocket used almost all of its fuel to deliver the payloads to their destination, which made it unable to return to the Earth's atmosphere to get rid of them, so it remained stuck in orbit around the Earth until the forces of gravity and solar activity pushed it towards the Moon.

According to estimates, the missile body, which weighed 4,000 kilograms, collided with the surface of the moon at a speed of 8,690 kilometers per hour, creating a crater 27 meters wide, exactly at the time that scientists expected.

Danori's data will be linked to follow-up observations from NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter, and astronomers in Spain believe they were able to capture the moment of the collision on video via ground-based telescopes.

This was not the first time that a rocket object collided with the moon, as a third stage of a Chinese missile collided with the moon in 2022, and the stages of NASA's Saturn 5 missiles created craters during the Apollo missions.

"Danori" is South Korea's first lunar probe, which was launched in August 2022. It carries six scientific instruments, including an American instrument to search for water ice in the shaded areas of the moon's poles.