A piece of a SpaceX rocket is about to hit the moon
Astronomers expect the 45-foot stage to create a 66-to-98-foot crater and a dust plume they may track from Earth.
- A 45-foot upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched in January 2025, is set to crash into the Moon near Einstein crater on August 5, 2026, traveling at about 2 to 2.43 km/s and creating a 20 to 30 meter-wide crater.
- The impact will eject lunar dust and debris, potentially observable by lunar orbiters and possibly telescopes on Earth, though visibility remains uncertain.
- The rocket stage remained in unstable Earth orbit after delivering two lunar landers and lacked fuel to alter its trajectory, resulting in an eventual collision with the Moon due to gravitational forces.
- The event presents an opportunity to study crater formation and ejecta dynamics, while raising concerns about space debris management and gaps in international lunar environmental governance.
13 Articles
13 Articles
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon at 5,400 MPH. Then What Happens?
Since January 2025, a big chunk of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been orbiting high above Earth. On August 5, 2026, researchers will finally get the chance to see what happens when a 45-foot piece of rocket ship slams into the Moon. As detailed by Space, a new preprint study says the impact could […] The post A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon at 5,400 MPH. Then What Happens? appeared first on VICE.
An abandoned SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the Moon
In the early hours of Aug. 5 (UTC), an abandoned SpaceX rocket stage is expected to slam into the Moon at around 5,406 miles per hour (8,700 km/h). Launched in January 2025, the rocket sent two commercial lunar landers toward Earth’s nearest neighbor. With its work done, the rocket lacked the fuel to return to Earth or move intoContinue reading "An abandoned SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the Moon" The post An abandoned SpaceX rocket is ab…
A SpaceX rocket will crash into the moon next week, and scientists aren't sure what to expect
On Aug. 5, Earth's moon is due for a human-made, high-speed impact from an identified flying object: a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage. The event will lead to a literal "dust up" on the lunar landscape. That Falcon 9 upper stage is a leftover from the launch that sent Firefly's Blue Ghost-1 lander to the moon on Jan. 15, 2025. Onboard the same flight was the Hakuto-R Mission 2, called Resilience, a robotic lunar lander developed by the Japanes…
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