NASA Reveals New Images of SpaceX Rocket's Moon Crash

Science shows that the Moon has spent billions of years collecting evidence of collisions with asteroids, meteoroids, and other objects. Now, scientists have a new kind of impact to study. On August 5, 2026, a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage smashed into the Moon after spending more than a year drifting through space. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has now captured detailed before-and-after images of the site, revealing a fresh crater roughly 60 feet across and less than 10 feet deep.

The crash was not planned, but the Moon crater images may provide a new layer of lunar exploration. The resulting crater is giving researchers an unusual opportunity to study how a large artificial object behaves when it strikes the Moon, and raising questions about what could happen as lunar exploration becomes increasingly crowded.

A Rocket Stage Ended Up on a Collision Course With the Moon

The SpaceX rocket Moon crash was not part of the plan when the rocket initially launched. SpaceX launched the rocket on Jan. 15, 2025, carrying Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. After completing its role in the mission, the upper stage remained in space rather than being deliberately directed toward another destination.

Over the course of a year, gravitational forces and solar activity drastically altered its trajectory. Eventually, astronomers determined that the rocket was on a collision course with the Moon. NASA and SpaceX tracked the object as its trajectory became clearer, with the eventual impact occurring near the Einstein and Bell craters on the far side of the Moon.

The Impact Happened at Thousands of Miles Per Hour