NASA Images Reveal 60-Foot Crater on Moon From SpaceX Rocket Booster Crash

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided the clearest images yet of a crater formed by the crash of a SpaceX rocket booster onto the moon's surface. The space agency released before-and-after photos on Tuesday, revealing the impact site.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster, weighing 8,800 pounds and measuring approximately 45 feet long, struck the moon on August 5 at a speed of 5,400 miles per hour. The impact created a crater estimated to be 60 feet across and less than 10 feet deep. Dark and bright streaks, resembling butterfly wings, emanate from the crater, with darker lines showing excavated surface material and brighter rays indicating freshly exposed rocks and dirt.

While the moon frequently experiences impacts from natural objects like meteoroids, artificial impacts remain relatively rare. This event occurred after the rocket's upper stage drifted in space for over a year following its launch in January 2025, which carried private moon landers for NASA's commercial lunar exploration initiatives.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, in orbit since 2009, captured the images a week after the collision from an altitude of 60 miles. South Korea's Danuri spacecraft was the first to transmit photos of the impact site. NASA has a history of intentional lunar impacts, including crashing a rocket stage in 2009 to confirm the presence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater, a discovery crucial for future lunar bases.