A leftover part of a SpaceX rocket crashed into the moon on Wednesday 5 August, travelling at roughly 5,400 miles per hour.
The object, known as the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, was about as tall as a five-storey building. It had been left circling Earth since January 2025, after helping launch two robotic Moon landers, before the Moon’s gravity gradually pulled it onto a collision course.
Scientists said the crash would happen near Einstein Crater, on the side of the Moon that faced Earth, and could leave a new crater up to 27 metres wide. Nasa confirmed there was no danger to anyone on Earth, as the impact would take place hundreds of thousands of kilometres away. Experts explained that the crash would send a huge cloud of dust and rock, known as an ejecta plume, possibly 50 kilometres into the air.
Most people would not be able to see the crash from Earth, as it would only be visible through powerful telescopes. Spacecraft already orbiting the Moon, including Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri orbiter, were expected to take photographs before and after the impact so scientists could study the changes to the Moon’s surface.
Although this particular crash was not planned, experts said it highlighted the growing problem of space junk, which is human-made material left behind in space after missions. Nasa said it would keep tracking the rocket part for training purposes and study the impact site once the crash had happened.
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