SpaceX rocket set to crash into the Moon, creating new crater

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage is on an unavoidable collision course with the Moon, with impact expected today. The event, while posing no threat to Earth, is anticipated to create a new crater on the lunar surface and generate a plume of debris that scientists and stargazers hope to observe.

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It might be possible for folks with a telescope to observe the plume of ejecta created by the impact.

Scientists estimate the rocket stage weighs approximately 8,800 pounds (4,000 kilograms) and is expected to strike the Moon's northern hemisphere near the Einstein Crater at high speed. Benjamin Fernando of Los Alamos National Laboratory noted that the brightness of the resulting ejecta plume is uncertain, making the event a valuable opportunity for study.

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It is unclear how bright it will be, which is one of the reasons why we are looking to study this event.

SpaceX stated that while they typically perform maneuvers to ensure rocket stages are safely disposed of after high-energy missions, a combination of solar activity and gravitational forces unexpectedly altered this particular stage's trajectory. NASA confirmed it will track the booster for training and scientific observation of the impact site.

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There is no danger to Earth.

This unintentional lunar impact offers a unique chance to test methods for localizing impacts, study debris and plume dynamics, and assess hazards from artificial space debris. NASA views such events as critical for understanding the lunar environment as it plans to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon.

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NASA will continue to track the booster for training purposes, as well as later observe the impact site for scientific purposes.