First images show Moon's fresh crater after stray rocket impact

The first images of the Moon have been released, showcasing a fresh crater formed by part of a SpaceX rocket that crashed into its surface. A satellite captured pictures revealing darker terrain at the crash site. NASA plans to have its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter fly over the crash site next week to examine the aftermath. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute's Danuri spacecraft passed over the impact site shortly after a Falcon 9 upper stage, launched by SpaceX, inadvertently struck the Moon on Wednesday around 4:35pm AEST.

Danuri made several passes, snapping photos from lunar orbit that were later released by the space agency. The terrain around the impact site is noticeably darker, as the rocket carved out a crater, ejecting dust and rock across the lunar surface. South Korean space officials stated that Danuri collected both before and after shots of the impact.

NASA anticipates its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to observe the crash site next week. SpaceX launched Danuri from Cape Canaveral in 2022 and also dispatched two private lunar landers to the Moon last year. The upper stage from SpaceX's launch was what crashed into the Moon this week at a velocity of 8,700 kilometres per hour. Before the satellite images were made public, a telescope in Chile had detected the debris plume resulting from the impact.

Astronomers identified a stream of sodium and lithium extending for tens of kilometers into space for at least five to 10 minutes following the impact.