A discarded piece of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to strike the Moon at approximately 5,400 mph [1].
The event marks a rare instance of human-made debris impacting the lunar surface at such high velocity. While unintentional, the crash provides NASA scientists and other observers a chance to study the effects of high-speed impacts on lunar geology.
The object is a derelict upper stage weighing 8,800 pounds [1]. It was discarded after a lunar-lander launch in January 2026 [1] and has since been floating in space. The stage is on a collision course that will bring it down near Einstein Crater [3].
Reports on the exact timing of the impact vary. Some sources said the collision would occur early Wednesday morning [2], while other reports indicated the strike would happen the following week [4]. Because of the distance involved, confirmation of the impact may take several hours to verify via orbital data.
Two orbiters are positioned to monitor the event. The impact is expected to blast out a crater roughly 16 feet deep [3]. There is a discrepancy regarding the width of the resulting crater; some reports estimate it will be 90 feet across [3], while others suggest a width of 60 feet [5].
"A dead SpaceX upper stage is set to hit the Moon at 5,400 mph," Yahoo Science staff said [6]. "Nobody planned it; everybody saw it coming, and two orbiters will be watching."
Joey Roulette of Reuters said a rocket piece floating in space since last year was expected to have smashed into the moon at high speed early Wednesday morning, though the impact was unlikely to be confirmed for at least several hours [2].
“A dead SpaceX upper stage is set to hit the Moon at 5,400 mph.”
This incident highlights the growing challenge of orbital debris and 'space junk' as commercial spaceflight increases. While the Moon is a vast target, the unintentional impact of a heavy industrial object demonstrates the difficulty of tracking and decommissioning spent rocket stages once they leave Earth's immediate orbit.
