A spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon early on August 5, 2026, near Einstein Crater, according to tracking data from independent astronomers and space-tracking agencies. The roughly four-metric-ton (about 8,800-pound / 4,000 kg) object, cataloged as 2025-010D, impacted the lunar surface at approximately 2:35 a.m. EDT (06:35 UTC) while traveling at about 5,400 mph (8,700 km/h or 2.43 km/s).
The collision created a new crater on the lunar surface and ejected a plume of lunar dust and debris. The impact released energy equivalent to roughly three tonnes of TNT. Because the event occurred on sunlit terrain, any impact flash was obscured by daylight and was not readily observable from Earth.
Confirmed Details of the Impact
The upper stage originated from the January 15, 2025, Falcon 9 launch that carried Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 and ispace’s Hakuto-R Mission 2 (Resilience) landers under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Blue Ghost soft-landed successfully in March 2025; Resilience crashed during its landing attempt. After payload deployment, the second stage remained in a highly elliptical Earth orbit. It was passivated (remaining propellant dumped), but solar activity and gravitational forces later placed it on a collision course with the Moon.
Astronomer Bill Gray of Project Pluto first identified the trajectory months in advance using extensive optical observations. NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies later confirmed a 100% probability of impact. The stage measured roughly 45 feet (13.8 meters) long and about 12 feet (3.7–4 meters) in diameter. The first stage (booster) had returned to Earth for recovery as planned; only the upper stage was involved.
The impact site lies near Einstein Crater (in the vicinity of Bell Crater) on the Moon’s western limb. Orbital trajectories mapped by independent trackers and confirmed by agencies established that the object struck as predicted.
Scientific Follow-Up Underway
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft (including its ShadowCam instrument) adjusted their observation plans to document the collision site. These orbiters are surveying the ejected dust plume and will acquire high-resolution before-and-after imagery of the newly formed crater. Detailed measurements of crater dimensions and plume characteristics from orbital assets are expected in the coming days, depending on lighting conditions, orbital geometry, and spacecraft positioning.
Ground-based telescopes coordinated by NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office also attempted observations around the time of impact. The event marks only the second known accidental impact of discarded rocket hardware on the Moon (following a Chinese Long March 3C upper stage that struck the far side in March 2022 and produced a double crater).
SpaceX stated the trajectory was unintentional and unpreventable given the stage’s remaining fuel state after the high-energy mission. Julianna Scheiman, SpaceX director of NASA science and Dragon programs, noted that solar activity and gravitational forces combined to place the passivated stage on its final path.
Context and Implications
The impact poses no danger to Earth or active lunar missions. Natural meteoroids of comparable energy strike the Moon regularly. Because the object’s mass, composition, speed, and approximate impact parameters were known in advance, the event provides a valuable calibration point for models of crater formation, ejecta dynamics, and the behavior of artificial debris impacts on airless bodies.
High-resolution imagery from LRO and Danuri will allow precise characterization of the new crater (pre-impact models had estimated diameters on the order of 20–30 meters / 65–90 feet and depths around 5 meters / 16 feet). Those measurements, once available, will refine understanding of how hollow rocket stages interact with the lunar regolith compared with solid natural impactors.
The incident also underscores ongoing challenges in cislunar debris management. As commercial lunar activity increases, spent upper stages on high-energy trajectories that cannot be readily deorbited into Earth’s atmosphere will require continued attention to tracking, passivation practices, and potential future disposal guidelines.
Updated crater measurements and plume observations from lunar orbiters are expected to become available in the days ahead.
