A SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon this month — and a NASA spacecraft has spotted its lunar grave (photos)
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the crater gouged out on the moon by a SpaceX rocket on Aug. 5, finding it to be about 60 feet (18 meters) wide.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of the impact site where a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage collided with the moon on August 5, 2026. The collision occurred near Einstein Crater at a speed of 5,400 mph (8,690 kph). The LRO's Narrow-Angle Camera, which takes photos every 117 minutes, captured before-and-after images of the crater.
According to LROC Principal Investigator Mark Robinson, the newly formed impact crater is approximately 60 feet (18 meters) wide and less than 10 feet (3 meters) deep. The crater features a distinctive V-shaped ejecta pattern on its south side, which aligns with natural impactors hitting the moon at low angles. The LRO's images reveal bright and dark rays extending from the crater, with the darker streaks composed of weathered material excavated by the collision, and the brighter streaks made of fresh material from deeper underground.
Korea's Danuri lunar orbiter, also known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, captured early images of the impact site using its Lunar Terrain Imager.
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