A four-tonne piece of a SpaceX rocket has crashed into the Moon at high speed, creating a new crater and giving scientists a rare opportunity to study lunar geology.
The empty booster, which is about the height of a five-story building, struck the Moon on Wednesday at roughly 5,400 mph (8,700 km/h). The impact occurred near the Einstein crater on the lunar surface. Experts confirmed that the collision posed no danger to Earth.
The rocket part belonged to a SpaceX Falcon 9 that launched two lunar landers into space in January 2025. After pushing the landers toward the Moon, the spent upper stage remained floating in space. Over the past 18 months, gravitational forces from the Earth, Moon, and Sun gradually pushed the piece of space debris onto a path toward the Moon.
Scientists are excited about the accidental crash because it functions like a controlled experiment. Since researchers already know the rocket's exact size, weight, and speed, they can study how the impact creates a crater and shakes the lunar surface. The crash is expected to leave a crater about 18 meters (60 feet) wide and throw up a large cloud of dust and rocks.
Telescopes on Earth could not immediately capture the flash from the collision because the impact area was bathed in daylight. However, orbiting spacecraft, including NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea's Danuri satellite, will take photos of the site in the coming days. By comparing images taken before and after the crash, scientists hope to learn more about the Moon's interior and help engineers design safer landers and lunar bases for future missions.