A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers has crashed into the moon as predicted, according to scientists. The 5,400-mph collision had yet to be officially confirmed, but space tracking experts said it was inevitable that the leftover rocket segment plowed into the moon.

Lunar Litter a Growing Concern

The incident highlights the growing problem of lunar litter, which could worsen as the U.S. and China race to put astronauts on the moon. In 2022, a Chinese rocket unintentionally hit the moon following a lunar mission, and many more stray rocket pieces likely struck the moon in decades past without scientists’ knowledge.

SpaceX’s Julianna Scheiman said the company is working with NASA to avoid future wrecks, stressing that this projected crash was not deliberate. A combination of solar activity and gravity accidentally put it on a collision course with the moon, she said.

Retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that observations of the dead 4-ton upper stage showed it heading straight for the moon. The anticipated crash site was a dusty, barren patch near Einstein Crater on the moon’s sunlit western limb — near the edge of the near and far sides, which is especially difficult to observe from Earth.

Visual confirmation will have to wait for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to fly over the crash scene and send back photos of the impact crater. The space agency doesn’t expect that to happen until next week.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.