SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage set to impact Moon on Aug. 5
The 45-foot second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that launched a lunar lander in January is expected to strike the Moon’s near side on Aug. 5 at about 5,400 mph, creating a small crater and a dust plume observable by scientists.
The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that carried an uncrewed lunar lander in January is projected to collide with the Moon’s near side on Aug. 5 at roughly 2:34 a.m. ET. The 45-foot, 8,800-pound second stage will hit the surface at about 2.43 km per second (5,400 mph) near the Einstein crater, according to astronomer Bill Gray, who tracks the object using ground-based observations.
Gray’s analysis, based on the object’s designation 2025-010D, suggests the impact could produce a crater 66 to 98 feet wide and generate a dust plume that may be detectable by professional telescopes from Earth, though it will be too faint for amateur observers.
The stage remained in a highly elliptical Earth orbit after delivering the Blue Ghost lander—built by Firefly Aerospace—to the Moon, where the lander operated for a full lunar day before completing its mission. Unlike most Falcon 9 upper stages that re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, this one stayed in space and is now on a collision course with the Moon.
"The collision doesn't present any danger to anyone," Gray wrote, adding that the event underscores concerns about the disposal of leftover space hardware.
The impact poses no risk to Earth and is not expected to cause significant damage to the lunar surface, but scientists plan to use the event to study the resulting crater and dust plume.