Before-and-after NASA images show crater carved by a SpaceX rocket that slammed into the moon
Scientists measured the crater at 60 feet wide and less than 10 feet deep after the rocket impact excavated bright and dark lunar material.
- On Tuesday, NASA released high-resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing a 60-foot-wide crater on the Moon carved by a SpaceX Falcon 9 impact on August 5.
- The four-ton Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the Moon after drifting through space for over a year following its January 15, 2025, launch, with shifts in gravity and solar activity causing the unplanned collision.
- Scientists determined the crater is less than 10 feet deep with material excavated from 1.5 feet below the surface, requiring precise tilting of the LRO while traveling at 1 mile per second.
- Using preliminary data from the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter , NASA collaborated with the Korea AeroSpace Administration to refine the impact site imagery and validate tracking predictions.
- NASA used the collision to test planetary defense techniques, with NASA lunar scientist Kelsey Young stating scientists are studying the crater to "prepare for how to shield astronauts" and future infrastructure.
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283 Articles
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Images Falcon 9 Crater on Moon, With Some Help From a Korean Spacecraft
A SpaceX Falcon upper stage crashed into the Moon on August 5th. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured images of the crash site from different viewing angles and with different sunlight angles. The images showed that the crater is about 18 meters wide and about 3 meters deep. SpaceX says the crash was an accident.
NASA reveals new images of SpaceX rocket crash on moon
A SpaceX rocket stage that spent a year wandering through space struck the moon at 5,400 mph on August 5, leaving behind a unique scar on the lunar surface. NASA recently released new photographs of the aftermath, which reveal a crater measuring about 60 feet across and less than 10 feet deep. Surrounding the impact, two sets of dark and bright streaks radiate outward, spreading much like butterfly wings. Agency scientists attribute this distinc…
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