SpaceX Rocket Collides with Moon: What This Means for Future Lunar Missions

Collision Confirmed: SpaceX Rocket Hits the Moon

A SpaceX rocket, which had launched two lunar landers, has reportedly collided with the moon, as anticipated, after veering off its intended path for over a year, according to scientists.

While the official confirmation of the crash at a speed of 5,400 mph (8,700 kph) is still pending, experts in space tracking believe the impact was unavoidable.

This incident adds to the growing concern over lunar debris, a situation that could escalate as the United States and China compete to send astronauts back to the moon. In 2022, a Chinese rocket unintentionally impacted the lunar surface, and many other rocket remnants likely struck the moon unnoticed in previous decades.

Julianna Scheiman from SpaceX stated that the company is collaborating with NASA to prevent future incidents, clarifying that this crash was not intentional. She explained that a mix of solar activity and gravitational forces inadvertently set the rocket on a collision course with the moon.

Retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell observed the 4-ton upper stage of the rocket heading directly towards the moon on Tuesday night.

The expected impact site is a desolate area near Einstein Crater on the moon's sunlit western edge, a location that is particularly challenging to observe from Earth.

McDowell expressed confidence that the rocket is now fragmented across the lunar surface near Einstein Crater, stating, "There’s no doubt in my mind that the rocket is now in teeny, little pieces scattered over the moon near Einstein Crater."

He added, "As a physicist, I know that what goes up must come down."

Even if an asteroid had collided with the rocket during its descent, the fragments would still have impacted the same area, according to McDowell.

Observers on Earth were aware that witnessing the dust and rock plume from the impact would be nearly impossible, let alone seeing the flash of light from the collision. Spacecraft in orbit had the best chance of detecting any activity or at least capturing images of the crater afterward.

Dutch astronomer Marco Langbroek aimed his telescope at the moon during the expected time of impact but reported no success.

Langbroek acknowledged the challenge, stating, "We knew this would be a long shot," but like McDowell, he is convinced that the rocket met its end.

Visual confirmation of the impact will depend on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is expected to capture images of the crater next week.

The Falcon rocket's upper stage, a large cylinder over 40 feet (12 meters) long, launched two private lunar landers from Cape Canaveral on January 15, 2025. After successfully placing Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience on a lunar trajectory, the upper stage became stranded. While Resilience failed, Blue Ghost successfully landed, marking a milestone as the first private spacecraft to do so.

The moon is becoming a focal point for space exploration, with NASA planning a surge of robotic missions in the coming years to establish a sustainable lunar base. SpaceX and Blue Origin, led by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos respectively, are set to provide lunar landers for NASA's Artemis astronauts.

Musk's Starship is progressing well in test flights from Texas, while Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander has yet to launch. One or both landers are expected to participate in next year's Artemis III mission, which will involve a docking rehearsal in Earth's orbit, with a potential lunar landing by astronauts occurring as early as 2028.

McDowell remarked, "Things are going to get a lot busier near the moon. At that point, an impact like this on the lunar surface, kicking up significant amounts of dust, will not be acceptable."