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Welp, Nobody Saw SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Crash Into the Moon
The timing of the crash landing was well documented, giving astronomers plenty of time to train their telescopes and instruments on the moon in hopes of catching a lunar first: an impact flash on the lit side of the moon.
When the time came, though, no observatory managed to obtain a direct image of the collision of the rocket, which was traveling at about 5,400 mph at the time of impact. The strongest evidence of the impact so far comes from an observation made in Chile. According to the Associated Press, scientists using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope detected a stream of sodium and lithium that appeared a few minutes after the predicted time of the collision.
Although this is only indirect evidence, researchers believe it’s sufficient to indicate the impact occurred where predicted. Scientists believe the sodium comes from material ejected from the lunar surface, while the lithium likely originated from the rocket itself.
NASA, which announced prior to the crash landing that it would try to observe it, has not yet released any images or results. Other scientific institutions continue to analyze their data as well.
According to NASA estimates, the Falcon 9 upper stage carved out a crater approximately 60 feet in diameter and 12 feet deep, in addition to ejecting a cloud of dust and rock onto the lunar surface. The first images of the new crater may be released in the coming days, as NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as an orbiter belonging to South Korea’s space agency will pass over the region.
Even using professional ground-based telescopes, obtaining direct images of the moment of crash was difficult due to lighting conditions and the location of the impact site—let alone with lower-resolution equipment such as cell phone cameras. Yet in completely not surprising news, hoax images and videos are already circulating on social media purporting to show the moment of impact.
Not all rocket debris ends up reaching the moon. After completing its mission in early 2025, the Falcon 9 upper stage ended up in an orbit that was unstable. For more than a year, the gravity of Earth, the moon, and the sun slowly altered its trajectory until it eventually struck the lunar surface. The moon was previously struck by a Chinese rocket in 2022. With more lunar activity expected in the coming years, the need for strong safety protocols is only growing.
This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.
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