NASA announced Tuesday that it has released clear, high‑resolution images of a fresh crater on the Moon caused by a wayward SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage. The impact, which occurred on August 5, left a roughly 60‑foot‑wide depression in the lunar regolith.
How the collision occurred
The upper stage in question was part of a Falcon 9 launch on January 15, 2025, that carried two commercial lunar landers. After delivering its payload, SpaceX intentionally discarded the upper stage in a low lunar orbit. Over time, orbital dynamics nudged the spent booster onto a collision course with the Moon.
International effort to locate the impact
Within days of the impact, the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile detected the new crater. South Korea’s lunar orbiter Danuri (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter) also captured images and posted them on social media, providing the first visual confirmation.
NASA collaborated with the Korea Aerospace Administration, using Danuri’s preliminary data to direct a narrow‑angle camera aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Engineers tilted LRO so its cameras could point at the site each time the spacecraft passed about 60 miles above the Moon, traveling roughly one mile per second.
Precision imaging from orbit
Because LRO orbits the Moon every two hours, it took six days for its path to align with the impact location. Even a ten‑second delay in taking a picture could have caused the newly formed crater to drift out of frame by up to ten miles, so timing was critical. After processing the data, NASA released the final images on Tuesday.
Safety and scientific value
NASA lunar scientist Kelsey Young emphasized that the collision poses no danger to Earth or to the Moon’s surface. “This is a technically accepted and safe method of disposing of hardware in low lunar orbit,” Young said in a video posted to social media. She added that the Moon is constantly bombarded by meteors, asteroids and comets.
Beyond confirming the impact, researchers are studying the crater to learn more about the Moon’s geology. The data will help inform future missions, including how to protect astronauts and any infrastructure that may be built on the lunar surface.
What this means for future lunar activity
The incident underscores the growing presence of commercial actors in space and the need for clear guidelines on end‑of‑mission disposal. While the impact was unplanned, it demonstrates that existing disposal practices can be monitored and studied without endangering people.
As private companies like SpaceX continue to launch lunar missions, agencies such as NASA and international partners will likely refine protocols to balance exploration, safety, and scientific opportunity.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
