RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Scientific American — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 5 sources
NASA images reveal 60-foot-wide crater on moon left by SpaceX rocket
The SpaceX rocket fragment hit the moon at several times the speed of sound on August 5
The moon officially has a new crater. On August 5 the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket smacked into the face of our natural satellite at an estimated 5,400 miles an hour—several times the speed of sound. Astronomers predicted the crash would cause a plume of debris to rise up from the moon, leaving a crater behind for posterity. And now we can see the damage for ourselves.
On August 11 and 12 NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spotted the crater and snapped pictures from around 60 miles above the lunar surface. The crater is around 60 feet in width, and less than 10 feet in depth. In the images, bright rays can be seen emanating from the crater's rim—these are likely material from deep below the surface, blasted up by the rocket fragment as it hit the moon.
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing . By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The LRO is not the only telescope to see the impact and its aftermath—the European Southern Observatory previously announced that its Very Large Telescope had detected sodium and lithium in the debris cloud thrown up by the crash. And a South Korean lunar orbiter also previously spotted the crater.
The Falcon 9 upper stage was never supposed to hit the moon. The 4-metric-ton vehicle was meant to burn up in Earth's atmosphere after successfully launching two lunar landers in January 2025. But that didn't happen. Instead, it entered orbit around Earth at about the same distance as the moon, putting it on a collision course with our natural satellite. An amateur astronomer, Bill Gray, spotted the rocket fragment in September of that year. Since then, astronomers around the world watched the object as it neared its demise.
Tracking such pieces of space junk is hard. NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies traces space rocks such as asteroids in our vicinity, and the U.S. Space Surveillance Network keeps tabs on errant spacecraft and some debris. But most space junk particles are too small to be tracked.
Claire Cameron is breaking news chief at Scientific American . Originally from Scotland, she moved to New York City in 2012. Her work has appeared in National Geographic , Slate , Inc. Magazine , Nautilus , Semafor , and elsewhere.
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American , you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.