SpaceX rocket debris crashes into Moon, blasts 60-foot crater
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the Moon, creating a large crater near the Einstein Crater. Scientists are using lunar orbiters to study the impact site, noting that such collisions are common due to the Moon's lack of an atmosphere.
Why it matters
This event highlights the growing issue of space debris and the environmental impact of human activity in lunar orbit.
SpaceX has been achieving many of its targets these days, even by accident. After months of anticipation, a discarded upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is believed to have careened into the Moon early Wednesday morning near the Einstein Crater. It exploded on impact, causing a flash that may have been visible from Earth and creating a large crater.The discarded Falcon 9 rocket part had been lingering in space for over a year. According to an Al Jazeera report, the debris weighed four tonnes and was the size of a school bus. It was jettisoned during a January 2025 mission that brought two lunar landers, Firefly's Blue Ghost and ispace's Hakuto-R, to the Moon. Astronomers soon suspected that it would fall into the Moon's orbit, and in late April, a report confirmed the suspicions that it would slam into the rocky satellite.
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