SpaceX Falcon 9 impact creates 60-foot crater on the Moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of a new 60-foot crater on the moon, created by the impact of a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage. The collision occurred on August 5 near the Einstein Crater.

The rocket stage had been in space for approximately 18 months following a January 2025 launch from Florida. The mission originally deployed two private moon landers: Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and a spacecraft from the Japanese company ispace. While the Blue Ghost lander successfully touched down, the Falcon 9 upper stage was intended to remain in a distant orbit to avoid becoming Earth-threatening debris.

Independent astronomers and NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) tracked the rocket's trajectory after it became unstable due to solar activity and gravitational forces. South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft was the first to provide initial imagery of the crash site using its high-resolution camera, which helped guide NASA’s follow-up observations.