Defunct SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Stage Crashes Into Moon, Unveiling Sodium and Lithium in Impact Plume
WASHINGTON: A piece of a SpaceX rocket that had been adrift in space since last year collided with the moon at high speed early Wednesday morning. This event adds to the long history of meteoroids, stray spacecraft, and other debris impacting the lunar surface, as confirmed by astronomers.
The object, approximately the size of a school bus, is the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched a lunar lander from Firefly Aerospace in January 2025. Its anticipated collision with the moon attracted significant attention from astronomers and space enthusiasts eager to observe the event.
Weighing 4 metric tons (4,000 kg), the rocket stage struck the moon around 2:35 a.m. ET (0635 GMT), traveling at a speed of 5,400 miles per hour (8,690 kph). Unfortunately, no spacecraft currently orbiting the moon were in position to capture detailed images of the impact.
However, the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile detected flashes of light associated with the collision. An ESO spokesperson confirmed that the telescope identified spectral lines of sodium and lithium gas in the impact plume, which lasted for 5 to 10 minutes post-impact.
The collision occurred near the moon’s terminator line, the boundary between its illuminated and shadowed sides. Similar to previous impacts, the rocket stage generated a plume of lunar dust that was briefly illuminated by sunlight, although it was challenging to observe with the naked eye from Earth.
The interaction of the impact plume with sunlight provided astronomers with insights into its composition. The sodium gas detected is believed to have originated from the lunar soil, while the lithium traces may have come from the rocket stage itself, according to Carl Schmidt, the lead astronomer overseeing the observations.
“This observation did not go perfectly, and this is a very crude analysis, but I wanted to share something quickly, and we can say more about these results in time,” Schmidt stated.
SpaceX indicated that the impact was unintentional. The rocket stage was expected to collide near Einstein Crater on the moon’s western limb, an area that is often difficult to observe from Earth.
Cosmic Forces Nudged the Rocket Stage Toward the Moon
Typically, rocket stages fall back into Earth’s atmosphere and either burn up or plunge into the ocean after delivering their payloads into orbit. However, the January lunar lander mission required more thrust than missions closer to Earth, leaving the rocket’s second stage adrift in space among thousands of other pieces of debris that active satellites must avoid.
Earlier this year, astronomers determined that the rocket stage, which had expended its remaining fuel and could not be controlled, was on a trajectory leading to the moon. Julianna Scheiman, SpaceX’s director of NASA science and Dragon programs, explained that a combination of solar activity and gravitational forces had directed the stage toward the moon.
Bill Gray, the creator of the widely used astronomy software Project Pluto, noted that the impact may hold minor scientific interest and could yield new insights. He first calculated and published a report predicting the stage’s impact in April, expressing confidence in the prediction by that time.
Gray emphasized that the impact poses no danger to anyone but highlights the carelessness surrounding the disposal of leftover space hardware.
The Rarity of Space Junk Impacts on the Moon
Impacts from space debris on the moon are infrequent. A Chinese rocket stage crashed into the moon in March 2022 after completing a lunar test mission. In 2009, NASA intentionally crashed a rocket stage into the moon to study the resulting plume of lunar material, leading to significant findings, including the discovery of water ice in lunar soil.
Several spacecraft aiming for soft landings on the moon have instead experienced crashes in recent years. Russia’s nuclear-powered Luna-25 mission lost control and crashed in 2023, leaving its plutonium-238 power source likely harmless on the lunar surface. Similarly, India’s Chandrayaan-2 lander and Israel’s Beresheet lander both crashed in 2019, with the latter carrying tiny tardigrades that may still be on the moon.
NASA previously conducted intentional crashes of Saturn V rocket stages into the moon during the 1970s to study the seismic effects of such impacts.
Discussions are underway between NASA and SpaceX regarding strategies to prevent future lunar impacts. NASA plans to establish a lunar base and conduct routine astronaut missions to the moon later this decade as part of its Artemis program, which involves significant investment. The presence of errant space debris poses a risk to these future missions.
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Published on 2026-08-06 12:43:00 • By the Editorial Desk
