SpaceX rocket segment to crash into the moon: What happened?

An 8,800-pound SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster is set to collide with the moon early on Wednesday, creating a crater approximately 16 feet deep. The upper portion of the rocket, which successfully launched two lunar landers in January 2025, has been orbiting the moon since disengaging from the landers. The mission was partly successful as Firefly's Blue Ghost-1 landed safely, but Japan's ispace Hakuto-R crashed onto the lunar surface.

The rocket, about 45 feet long and 12 feet wide, will crash into the lunar surface at a speed of 5,400 mph around 2:35 a.m. Eastern time. According to Julianna Scheiman, SpaceX's director of NASA Science and Dragon Programs, the company adhered to regulations for the rocket's disposal. However, solar activity and gravity forces have altered its orbit, causing the collision.

The impact will be too brief to observe with the naked eye, and even large telescopes may not capture a visible effect. Observations of the impact will be captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, with photographs likely to be released within a week or two. The impact will release energy equivalent to 2.8 tons of TNT, resulting in a crater ranging from 65 to 100 feet in diameter.

This event will be the first man-made collision on the moon's sunlit side, making the observation particularly significant. Previous man-made lunar impacts include intentional collisions by the Soviet Union in 1959 and U.S. spacecraft parts during the Apollo missions. Notable natural lunar impacts include the Japanese robotic probe in 1993 and a European Space Agency satellite in 2006.

The SpaceX rocket's impact is expected to loft a cloud of lunar dust and possibly gas/vapor, providing valuable insights into the presence of water ice on the moon's surface, which is crucial for future lunar base construction.