SpaceX Falcon 9 Upper Stage Unplanned Impact on Moon

A discarded upper stage from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket struck the Moon on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in an unplanned impact near the Einstein crater on the lunar near side. The event, which occurred at approximately 0635 UTC, was confirmed through indirect observations and marks the latest instance of human-made debris reaching the lunar surface.

The rocket stage, weighing about 4,000 kilograms and roughly the size of a five-story building, impacted at a speed of nearly 5,400 miles per hour. Scientists had predicted the collision would create a crater estimated to be 18 to 20 meters (approximately 60 to 66 feet) wide and several meters deep, though precise measurements await orbital imaging. The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile provided the strongest evidence of the impact, detecting spectral signatures of sodium and lithium gas in a plume that appeared minutes after the predicted collision time. Researchers believe the sodium originated from lunar soil ejected by the impact, while the lithium likely came from the rocket debris itself.

The stage was part of a rocket launched from Florida on January 15, 2025, which successfully deployed two private...