Lunar crater photographed after Falcon 9 strike
On August 20, NASA released images of a crater left by a Falcon 9 upper stage that slammed into the Moon. The collision happened on August 5, near the Einstein crater. According to the agency, the new crater measures roughly 18 meters across and up to 3 meters deep. The pictures were captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on August 11 and 12, from an altitude of about 96 kilometers. Because the Moon has no atmosphere, impacting objects reach the surface directly, leaving craters like this one.
The Falcon 9 upper stage never made it back into Earth's atmosphere after its launch, instead remaining on an elongated orbit. It had lifted off on January 15, 2025, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, carrying two commercial lunar landers. At impact, the rocket stage was moving at roughly 8,690 kilometers per hour. The upper stage weighed about 4,000 kilograms and measured approximately 12 meters in length and 4 meters in width.
Studying the impact site
The crash site was first estimated from trajectory calculations, then refined using data on the Moon's terrain. The very first images of the resulting crater came from South Korea's Danuri orbiter on August 6. To get sharper views, NASA adjusted LRO's orientation and employed its narrow-angle camera for more detailed photographs. The lighter material surrounding the crater is soil thrown up from deeper layers of the lunar surface.
LRO has spent more than seven years in orbit around the Moon, completing a full circle roughly every two hours. NASA waited six days for the right shot, since a pointing error of just ten seconds could shift the target by about 16 kilometers. The images from this study will help scientists understand what happens when space objects strike the Moon and evaluate the threat that space debris may pose to future missions.
This event underscores the need for continued space surveillance and for examining how orbital debris affects other celestial bodies.
The findings could also guide planning for future trips to the Moon and other planets, offering insight into how often space objects interact with planetary surfaces. In addition, the research may support the development of tools and methods aimed at preventing similar incidents down the line.