Overview
- A discarded Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the Moon on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at about 5,400 mph and is expected to have excavated an roughly 18–27 metre crater.
- The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope recorded a short-lived impact plume with clear sodium lines and likely lithium that provided the first firm confirmation of the collision.
- NASA and partners are awaiting before-and-after images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri/Pathfinder orbiter that are due in the coming days to map the new crater and ejecta.
- SpaceX says the stage had exhausted its fuel and that solar radiation pressure combined with Earth–Moon gravitational perturbations nudged the dead stage onto a lunar-impact trajectory.
- Scientists call the event a rare research opportunity to test crater and ejecta models under known impact conditions and say it highlights gaps in tracking and disposal rules for growing cislunar traffic.