NASA reveals images of 18-metre lunar crater formed by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket impact
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images show an 18-metre-wide crater created on 5 August 2026 when an abandoned SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon at 8,700 kilometres per hour.
Orbital trajectory and lunar collision
On 5 August 2026, the four-tonne upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket collided with the Moon at approximately 8,700 kilometres per hour (5,400 mph). The rocket component, measuring roughly 12 metres in length, had drifted through deep space for more than a year and a half after completing its primary mission in January 2025, when it deployed Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander and scientific payloads. Over the following nineteen months, combined gravitational forces from Earth, the Moon, and the Sun, alongside solar activity, pushed the discarded booster into an unguided collision trajectory. Independent astronomer Bill Gray and NASA identified the trajectory on 20 July 2026, calculating the expected impact zone near Einstein crater with accuracy within one kilometre. An observatory telescope in Chile detected a cloud of sodium and lithium lasting five to ten minutes immediately following the collision.
- Falcon 9 launches Blue Ghost 1 lander before upper stage enters drifting orbit
- Astronomer Bill Gray and NASA identify collision course toward the Moon
- Rocket upper stage impacts lunar surface near Einstein crater at 8,700 km/h
- South Korea's Danuri spacecraft captures preliminary imagery of the site
- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter completes high-resolution imaging flyover
- NASA releases before-and-after images of the 18-metre crater
High-precision orbital photography
NASA released before-and-after imagery of the impact site captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), an observation spacecraft operating around the Moon since 2009. The spacecraft passed approximately 96 kilometres (60 miles) above the crash site between 11 and 12 August 2026, flying at 1.6 kilometres per second while orienting its camera suite toward the target area. Flight controllers required six days after the crash to align the orbiter's polar path with the target area. NASA noted that a timing discrepancy of ten seconds in triggering the camera shutter would have shifted the crater 16 kilometres from the centre of the image frame. South Korea's Danuri spacecraft had previously gathered initial photographs of the impact zone on 6 August.
Crater structure and ejecta patterns
Analysis of the LRO photographs confirmed that the kinetic energy of the collision, comparable to the detonation of three tonnes of TNT, hollowed out a crater roughly 18 metres (60 feet) wide and under three metres (10 feet) deep. The resulting ejecta pattern extends outward across the lunar surface in contrasting radial bands resembling butterfly wings. Darker streaks consist of surface-level regolith and dust altered by exposure to solar radiation, cosmic rays, and micrometeorites. Brighter rays mark fresh, unweathered rock and soil excavated from deeper strata and redistributed outward across the terrain.
Debris disposal and scientific utility
NASA researchers indicated that observations of the impact provide valuable data for understanding lunar surface dynamics and preparing protective measures for future surface infrastructure under the Artemis program. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted the mechanics of the collision.
For me there is no doubt. As a physicist, I know: What goes up must come down.
NASA lunar scientist Kelsey Young explained that such impacts represent an established operational procedure rather than an environmental risk for the lunar surface.
This is actually a technically accepted and safe method of disposing of hardware in low lunar orbit.
Young added that studying impact dynamics aids scientists in assessing structural shielding requirements for astronauts and lunar habitats.
