On Wednesday, a SpaceX rocket segment collided with the moon as scientists had anticipated after it veered off course more than a year ago. Although no one witnessed the 5,400-mph (8,700-kph) crash, a telescope in Chile captured images of the debris plume, supporting the collision theory. Space experts had recognized the inevitability of the rocket impacting the moon.
Lunar debris is becoming a growing concern, especially as the United States and China aim to increase their lunar missions. In previous years, a Chinese rocket struck the moon unintentionally during a mission, along with countless undetected impacts over the decades.
SpaceX’s Julianna Scheiman indicated that the incident was unintentional, resulting from a mixture of solar activity and gravitational effects. The company is collaborating with NASA to prevent future accidents.
According to Carl Schmidt from Boston University, the evidence of the crash is conclusive. Observations from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope showed a sodium and lithium stream extending miles into space for several minutes post-collision.
Despite lacking direct impact images, telescope evidence was considered sufficient by Schmidt. Retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell had already predicted the rocket’s trajectory towards the moon. The collision occurred near Einstein Crater on the moon’s western limb, an area hard to monitor from Earth.
Physical confirmation may rely on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, tasked to photograph the impact site during its next flyover.
The rocket’s upper stage, over 40 feet (12 meters) long, launched two lunar landers from Cape Canaveral on January 15, 2025. The Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost landed successfully, a first for a private spacecraft, while ispace’s Resilience did not.
The moon is currently a focal point for space exploration ambitions. NASA plans multiple robotic endeavors to build a sustainable lunar base. SpaceX and Blue Origin are set to supply lunar landers for the upcoming Artemis missions.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is advancing its Starship testing, while Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin awaits launching its Blue Moon lander. Artemis III is anticipated next year, involving an orbiting docking exercise. A subsequent astronaut landing could occur by 2028.
McDowell highlights the increasing activity around the moon. He notes that frequent impacts could disturb the lunar surface substantially in the future.
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