NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured detailed images of a 60-foot crater carved on the moon by a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage. The rocket stage slammed into the lunar surface at 5,400 mph on August 5, following a January 2025 launch for a commercial moon mission.
SpaceX Rocket Impact Leaves Fresh Crater on the Moon
A NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon has returned the sharpest views yet of the impact site created when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage plowed into the lunar surface. The collision occurred on August 5 at a speed of 5,400 mph (8,700 kph) after the rocket stage drifted through space for more than a year.
The rocket originally launched in January 2025, carrying a pair of private moon landers equipped with scientific experiments and a small rover as part of NASA’s push to commercialize lunar exploration. Following the launch, the spent upper stage remained in free space until its trajectory intersected with the moon.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Captures High-Resolution Images
Imaging the remote crash site required precise orbital maneuvering. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has operated near the moon since 2009, passed about 60 miles above the lunar surface while traveling at one mile per second.
Because the orbiter circles the moon from pole to pole every two hours while the moon rotates underneath, flight controllers waited six days for the impact zone to rotate into view. Operators then tilted the spacecraft so its Narrow-Angle Camera could point directly at the crater.
Timing the sequence proved critical. Snapping photos even 10 seconds too early or too late would have caused the target to drift off-center by 10 miles. Analysis of the resulting images revealed a fresh crater measuring 60 feet (18 meters) across and less than 10 feet (3 meters) deep.
Global Tracking and Multi-Spacecraft Coordination
Finding the exact impact location involved international cooperation between independent astronomers, hobbyists, and space agencies. Independent researchers initially identified the rocket’s trajectory using publicly available tracking data.
NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, used the event to test and validate tools designed to predict impacts for planetary defense programs. After refining the trajectory predictions, the center shared its data with the Republic of Korea.
South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft was the first to image the crater using its high-resolution LUTI camera, achieving a prediction accuracy of about 0.6 miles. The Danuri mission team then provided those coordinates to NASA’s LRO team to fine-tune their follow-up imaging sequence.
Dark and Bright Streaks Reveal Subsurface Material
The newly released before-and-after photos display distinct dark and bright streaks stretching outward from the crater like butterfly wings. Scientists note that the darker lines consist of surface dust and rocks that were altered over eons by solar wind, galactic cosmic rays, and micrometeorite impacts. This weathered material was excavated from a depth of 1.5 feet.
By contrast, the brighter rays near the rim represent fresh rocks and dirt hurled upward from deeper underground. Updated coordinates for the crater center were established at 19.4759°N, 266.7138°E, at an elevation of 511 meters.
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