NASA Images Show Crater On The Moon Caused By SpaceX Falcon 9 Crash
NASA has released images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing a new crater on the moon caused by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crash. The impact, which occurred in August 2025, created a 60-foot wide crater.
Why it matters
This event highlights the growing issue of space debris and the environmental impact of human activity on the lunar surface.
They were taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
NASA Goddard/Intuitive Machines In the early hours of August 5, the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed into the lunar surface. Now, NASA has released a series of images captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from August 11 to 12, showing a new crater on the moon caused by the wandering rocket.
To capture the images, NASA engineers had to tilt the spacecraft sideways so its cameras would point downward as it passed 60 miles above the crater. Specifically, they used LRO's Narrow-Angle Camera, which can see features on the lunar surface as small as three feet wide.
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