New photos show site where SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed into moon
A piece of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket upper-stage crashed into the moon on August 5, creating a new crater. South Korea's Danuri lunar orbiter captured images of the impact site, which had been predicted by astronomers months in advance.
Why it matters
This event highlights the growing issue of space debris and the challenges of tracking uncontrolled objects in deep space orbits.
Hear this story A piece of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed into the moon's surface on August 5. South Korea's lunar orbiter, Danuri, was among the first to capture images of the new crater. The rocket part was an upper-stage that had been left in an uncontrolled orbit after a 2025 mission. NASA is also attempting to locate and observe the crash site with its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Earlier this week, a piece of a SpaceX rocket joined the ranks of space rocks and other wayward spacecraft that have slammed into the moon and become permanent fixtures of our celestial neighbor's surface .
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