NASA Releases Images of Falcon 9 Crater on the Moon
The images provide new details about the crash and demonstrate a global collaboration that pinpointed the impact site with high accuracy.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has imaged the crater left by a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage that crashed on the Moon on August 5, 2026. The crater is about 18 meters wide and less than 3 meters deep. The impact site was identified through a collaboration involving NASA, amateur astronomers, and South Korea's Danuri orbiter.
The Falcon 9 upper stage that crashed on the Moon on August 5 was part of the rocket that launched the Blue Ghost lunar lander in January 2025. NASA engineers aimed the narrow-angle camera aboard LRO at the predicted crash site, a process that required waiting six days for the location to come into view and precise shutter timing to avoid a 10-mile shift.
The resulting images show a crater about 18 meters wide and less than 3 meters deep. Identifying the site involved amateur astronomers using public data, NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies refining trajectory predictions, and South Korea's Danuri orbiter confirming the location within about 970 meters before relaying coordinates to the LRO team.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.