NASA Releases Images of SpaceX Rocket Crater on Moon

NASA released images on Tuesday showing a new crater on the Moon, created by a discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage that impacted the lunar surface on August 5.

The images, captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), provide a before-and-after comparison of the impact site. NASA stated the crater measures approximately 18 meters (60 feet) across and less than 3 meters (10 feet) deep. The images also reveal bright and dark rays spreading outward from the crater. The darker streaks consist of weathered lunar dust and rocks blasted from the upper 1.5 feet (0.46 meters) of the lunar surface.

This material had been altered over time by solar wind, cosmic rays, and micrometeorite strikes. Brighter debris near the crater rim came from deeper underground. The 4-ton upper stage struck the Moon at around 5,400 mph (8,700 kph) after drifting through space for over a year. The Falcon 9 rocket launched in January 2025, carrying the US Blue Ghost and Japanese Resilience lunar landers.

Its reusable first-stage booster returned to Earth, while the second stage remained in space. SpaceX stated the stage was initially placed on a trajectory considered safe under existing rules. A combination of solar activity and gravitational forces later sent it toward the lunar surface. The LRO photographed the crater a week after the collision from 60 miles (96 kilometers) up, zooming at one mile per second.

Flight controllers tilted the spacecraft to point its cameras toward the impact scene. South Korea's Danuri spacecraft was the first to beam back photos of the site.