Several space scientists believe part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket may have struck the moon in the early hours of Aug. 5, according to E! News.
The rocket launched from Earth on Jan. 15, 2025 and was carrying a pair of lunar landers. Space tracking expert Bill Gray told the Associated Press the impact may have happened at about 5,400 miles per hour, or roughly seven times the speed of sound.
A telescope in Chile reportedly detected a plume of debris that astronomers believe may have come from the collision, NBC News reported. Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Benjamin Fernando told the AP that the moon’s low gravity and lack of wind make it easier for dust from an impact to remain visible.
SpaceX said the crash was unintentional. Julianna Scheiman explained in an Aug. 3 press conference, according to CNN, that the rocket stage traveled too far from Earth’s orbit to burn up in the atmosphere and was pushed toward the moon by a combination of solar activity and gravity.
Researchers say the incident could offer useful information about how debris impacts affect the moon, especially as more spacecraft and future astronauts head there.
