South Korean satellite captures before and after views of SpaceX rocket’s moon crash - apnews.com
A South Korean satellite has captured images of a lunar impact site caused by a stray SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage. The collision occurred at high speeds following an accidental trajectory change.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the growing challenges of space debris and the importance of monitoring lunar impact events.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A South Korean satellite has captured the first pictures of the moon’s fresh crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX rocket.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Danuri spacecraft flew over the impact site soon after the Falcon 9 upper stage inadvertently plowed into the moon on Wednesday. Danuri made multiple passes, snapping photos from lunar orbit that were released by the space agency Thursday.
This combination of images provided by NASA and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute shows an area of the moon’s surface before, left, Oct. 1, 2015, and after, right, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, a SpaceX rocket segment collided with the moon. (NASA, Korea Aerospace Research Institute via AP)
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