Discarded SpaceX rocket 'crashes' into Moon at 5,400mph
Part of a SpaceX rocket weighing four tonnes is believed to have slammed into the moon.
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The Falcon 9 rocket, built by Elon Musk's company, was launched in January 2025 as part of a mission to put two lunar landers on the moon.
But the upper section of one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets is now expected to crash, which will cause an explosive flash which will not be visible with the naked eye but can seen by telescopes.
The collision is said to have happened near the Moon's Einstein Creator, on its western edge at an approximate speed of 5,400mph.
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Nasa said the impact is expected to create a crater about 60ft (18 metres) wide and 12ft (four metres) deep. It will also throw dust and rock outward.
Spokesman Jimi Russell said on Tuesday: "The impact poses no danger to Earth and Nasa scientists are planning to collect lunar data from the event and refine techniques for tracking objects in space."
SpaceX director of Nasa science and Dragon programs, Julianna Scheiman, told reporters: "What has happened is essentially a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces have put it on a path toward the moon."
Nasa said it would look for opportunities to capture images of the site before and after the impact which may help scientists "better understand artificial impacts and their exploration implications".
Some parts of the rocket were designed to return to Earth while others were shed in space and remain there unless they make contact with objects in space, but the collision was not planned.
The last time a dead rocket impacted the Moon was in 2022 after the Chinese Long March 3C upper stage from the 2014 Chang'e 5‑T1 mission hit its far side.