South Korean satellite captures before and after views of SpaceX rocket's moon crash

A South Korean satellite, Danuri, has captured images of the moon's recent crash site created by a stray SpaceX rocket upper stage. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute's spacecraft observed the impact site shortly after the Falcon 9 upper stage intentionally crashed into the lunar surface on Wednesday. Multiple passes were made by Danuri, taking photos from lunar orbit which were released by the space agency on Thursday.

The crash resulted in a noticeably darker crater, with dust and rock ejected from the impact. Korean space officials confirmed Danuri obtained both before and after images of the crash. NASA plans to send its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to the site next week to document the aftermath. SpaceX launched Danuri from Cape Canaveral in 2022 and also sent two private lunar landers to the moon last year.

The upper stage of that launch was propelled into an accidental collision course by solar activity and gravity, ultimately striking the Moon at approximately 8,700 km/h.