NASA spots crater on the moon created by SpaceX rocket crash
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of a 60-foot-wide crater on the moon caused by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster that crashed in August 2025. The images reveal details about the impact, including excavated surface material and the depth of the crater.
Why it matters
This event highlights the growing issue of space debris and the environmental impact of human activity on lunar surfaces as space exploration increases.
A NASA spacecraft in orbit around the moon captured dramatic images of the impact crater left when a SpaceX rocket smashed into the lunar surface this month. The defunct upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket crashed uncontrolled into the moon on Aug. 5 at an estimated 5,400 mph. The roughly 10,800-pound booster had launched two landers to the moon in January 2025, then remained adrift in orbit until the impact. NASA on Tuesday released new images of the crash site taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Aug. 11 and 12. Before-and-after views reveal a bright divot in the moon’s already-pockmarked terrain. Although there were no live views of the Aug. 5 impact, researchers were able to track the rocket’s trajectory and pinpoint the expected site of the new crater along the western edge of the moon’s sunlit side.
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