Drifting SpaceX rocket heading for accidental collision with moon

A spent SpaceX rocket stage is set to collide with the moon this Wednesday. This hardware, which launched a pair of lunar landers over a year ago, will strike the lunar surface at 5,400 mph. Scientists expect the impact to occur near the Einstein Crater on the moon’s sunlit western limb.

Space tracking expert Bill Gray confirmed the collision is accidental. While the object is not a major concern for orbital safety, it highlights the increasing density of items in space. The impact is expected to release energy equivalent to three tons of TNT and create a crater roughly 90 feet across and 16 feet deep.

Viewers in the eastern portions of the United States, Canada, and much of South America are positioned to have the best vantage points. Although the initial impact flash will likely remain too faint for direct observation from Earth, the resulting dust plume may be visible to telescopes for several minutes.

Benjamin Fernando from the Los Alamos National Laboratory noted that the lack of wind and low gravity on the moon will keep the ejected material visible for some time. Data collected from this crash will assist researchers in understanding how debris impacts affect future lunar missions and astronaut safety.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri orbiter are scheduled to photograph the site before and after the event. This incident serves as a reminder of the accumulation of spent rocket stages in space as missions to the moon and beyond become more frequent.