SpaceX Falcon 9 Upper Stage Crashes Into Moon, No Images Captured
Original: Welp, Nobody Saw SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Crash Into the Moon
Why This Matters
Increasing lunar missions raise urgent questions about space debris safety protocols and impact monitoring capabilities.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage rocket struck the Moon on Wednesday at approximately 5,400 mph. Although no observatory captured direct images of the impact, scientists at ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile detected sodium and lithium signals minutes after the predicted collision time.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage rocket impacted the lunar surface on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, traveling at approximately 5,400 mph. Despite the well-documented timing giving astronomers worldwide opportunity to observe the event, no observatory successfully captured direct images or video of the impact flash on the Moon's lit side.
The strongest indirect evidence came from Chile, where scientists using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope detected streams of sodium and lithium appearing minutes after the predicted impact time. Researchers believe sodium originated from material ejected from the lunar surface, while lithium likely came from the rocket itself.
NASA, which had announced plans to observe the crash, had not released images or results as of publication. According to NASA estimates, the Falcon 9 upper stage created a crater approximately 60 feet in diameter and 12 feet deep, ejecting a cloud of dust and rock. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea's lunar orbiter are expected to pass over the impact region and may release crater images in the coming days.
The Falcon 9 upper stage had been in an unstable orbit since completing its mission in early 2025, with gravitational forces from Earth, the Moon, and the Sun gradually altering its trajectory over more than a year. The Moon was previously struck by a Chinese rocket in 2022. Hoax images and videos of the impact have already begun circulating on social media.