Overview
- Tracking networks and space agencies reported the roughly four-ton Falcon 9 second stage likely hit near Einstein Crater early on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at about 5,400 mph (8,690 km/h).
- Models and agency statements estimate the collision released energy comparable to a few tons of TNT and carved a crater on the order of tens of metres across, with NASA citing roughly 18 m wide and 4 m deep as a working estimate.
- High-resolution confirmation is still pending as orbiters including NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri, plus ground telescopes, carry out before-and-after imaging and sensor passes over the next hours and days.
- SpaceX says the impact was unintentional, that the stage was passivated after the Jan. 2025 launch, and that long-term orbital changes from solar radiation pressure and gravitational forces steered it onto a lunar collision course.
- Scientists view the event as a rare, well-documented test of impact and ejecta models and as a prompt to strengthen deep-space tracking, mandatory disposal practices for high-energy missions, and international cislunar traffic management.