A SpaceX rocket smashed into the Moon — NASA just revealed the crater
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully imaged a crater created by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage that impacted the Moon in August 2025. The images allowed scientists to measure the crater's dimensions and analyze the fresh lunar material exposed by the collision.
Why it matters
Studying impact craters provides valuable data on lunar surface composition and the effects of human-made objects on celestial bodies.
Between Aug. 11 and 12, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) photographed a newly formed crater on the Moon. The crater appeared after a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the lunar surface on Aug. 5. The rocket stage had previously launched in January 2025 as part of the Firefly Blue Ghost 1 mission.
Capturing the impact site required careful maneuvering. Engineers tilted LRO so its cameras could point toward the crater as the spacecraft passed roughly 60 miles above the lunar surface at a speed of about 1 mile per second.
The orbiter circles the Moon from pole to pole once every two hours as the Moon slowly rotates beneath it. Because of this motion, LRO must wait for a particular location to rotate into a position where it can be observed. In this case, six days passed before the spacecraft had the right opportunity to photograph the new crater.
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