Falcon 9 Upper Stage Crashes Into the Moon in Rare Lunar Impact

A spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the Moon on August 5, 2026, near Einstein Crater after more than a year in cislunar space. Traveling at roughly 5,400 mph (8,690 km/h), the four-ton stage created a new lunar crater and generated a plume containing sodium and lithium that was detected by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. No spacecraft or telescope captured a direct video of the actual impact, although scientists confirmed the collision through spectroscopic observations.

Further Reading

• NASA – Moon Exploration
• NASA – Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
• European Southern Observatory (ESO) – Latest News
• Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA)

Note 1: There is no official video of the Falcon 9 impact itself. Reports circulating on social media claiming to show the impact are AI-generated or CGI. The event has only been confirmed through scientific observations, not direct footage.

Note 2: SpaceX said the Moon impact was not intentional. The Falcon 9 upper stage had successfully completed its mission in 2025 before becoming space debris in cislunar space. Over time, gravitational perturbations and solar activity altered its trajectory, eventually leading to the unplanned collision with the lunar surface.

Note 3: On August 6, 2026, the first confirmed post-impact images were released by the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) using its Danuri (KPLO) lunar orbiter. The before-and-after images of the region near Einstein Crater reveal the newly formed impact site created by the Falcon 9 upper stage. These are not images of the impact itself, but the earliest authenticated photographs showing its aftermath. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is also expected to acquire higher-resolution images of the crater during future passes.