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2w ago

Falcon 9 Upper Stage to Hit Moon Early Wednesday

Coordinated observations will test impact and ejecta models, exposing gaps in how operators track and dispose of deep‑space hardware.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience lunar landers, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 15, 2025.
Image
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying two lunar landers, lifted off on January 15, 2025.
The upper stage is located toward the top of the rocket stack.

Overview

  • A spent SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage launched Jan. 15, 2025 is on a confirmed collision course to strike the Moon at about 2:35 a.m. EDT Wednesday near Einstein Crater.
  • NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies and independent trackers have validated the trajectory and timed the impact to within seconds.
  • Researchers estimate the 4,000 kg stage will hit at roughly 2.43 km/s, release energy comparable to about three tons of TNT, and carve a roughly 20–30 meter-wide crater.
  • Orbiters including NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri plus ground telescopes are slated to image the site before and after impact to look for any brief flash and an ejecta plume.
  • Scientists say the event is a rare chance to check models of crater formation and ejecta behavior and to draw lessons about inadequate cislunar debris tracking and disposal practices as lunar activity grows.