Overview
- The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured and NASA published high-resolution images on Aug. 18 showing an ~18-meter-wide, under-3-meter-deep crater with bright and dark rays at the impact site.
- The lighter rays are interpreted as deeper, freshly exposed material kicked up by the strike and the darker rays are surface dust and rocks altered by long-term space weathering.
- The object that struck the Moon was a Falcon 9 upper stage launched Jan. 15, 2025 that SpaceX discarded after the mission and which orbital dynamics drove onto a collision course with the lunar surface on Aug. 5.
- Ground and space assets including the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and South Korea’s Danuri first detected the impact, and NASA used Danuri’s data to task LRO for follow-up imaging.
- NASA says the collision posed no threat to people or lunar operations and that the event yields data to improve understanding of lunar regolith, refine disposal practices for space hardware, and help protect future astronauts and infrastructure.