Upper stage impacting the moon on 2026 August 5
An astronomer details the upcoming impact of a discarded Falcon 9 rocket upper stage on the moon. The article discusses the history of the object and the broader issue of space debris management.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the growing concern regarding space junk and the environmental impact of human activity in orbit.
List of changes to this page (most recent 2026 July 17)
On 2026 August 5, within a few minutes of 06:35 UTC, an upper stage (section) of a rocket used for a lunar mission will hit the moon. This may be of some (probably minor) scientific interest, and we may learn some things from it. It doesn't present any danger to anyone, though it does highlight a certain carelessness about how leftover space hardware (space junk) is disposed of.
This is the second time I've identified a piece of junk as being about to hit the moon. That event got considerably more attention than I'd expected, including from non-astronomers. I'm hoping the following will answer most of the questions people are apt to have about this new event.
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