SpaceX Rocket Part Hits Moon at 5,400 Mph, Creating 5-10 Minute Gas Plume
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 6
SpaceX Rocket Part Hits Moon at 5,400 Mph, Creating 5-10 Minute Gas Plume
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 6
Summary
ESO’s Very Large Telescope detected sodium and lithium in a plume that lingered 5-10 minutes after a SpaceX upper stage struck near Einstein Crater at about 2:35 a.m. ET.
Scientists said the 4,000-kilogram Falcon 9 stage hit at roughly 5,436 mph after solar activity and gravity altered its post-mission disposal path following a January 2025 lunar launch.
The plume stretched a few tens of kilometers, and researchers expect the impact to have carved a 20-30 meter crater; NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri are gathering follow-up imagery.
Because artificial lunar impacts are rare, researchers say the event offers a real-time test of how debris ejects from the moon—knowledge increasingly important as Artemis and other missions raise debris risks around future lunar bases.
What can SpaceX’s Moon-bound rocket crash teach scientists about lunar dust—and why does it expose a bigger gap in Moon traffic rules?
If a spent rocket can scar the Moon for thousands of years, who should prevent future crashes from threatening landers, experiments, or historic sites?
Why are scientists watching a Falcon 9 stage hit near Einstein Crater, even though the impact may be hard to see from Earth?