Scientists are anticipating a collision between a fragment of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Moon on August 5, an event expected to occur at approximately 9:35 AM Romanian time. The rocket, which is traveling at a speed of 2.43 kilometers per second, will add to the Moon’s history of impacts, having been struck by numerous asteroids and meteoroids over millions of years.
According to NASA, the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket will create an impact that will be significantly more impressive than any similar explosion on Earth, as the Moon lacks an atmosphere and has much weaker gravitational pull. Dr. Matt Bothwell, a public astronomer at Cambridge University, noted that while the impact won’t be visible to the naked eye from Earth, those with sophisticated telescopes may witness a flash on the lunar surface.
Astronomers have tracked this portion of the rocket, which remained in orbit following the launch of two lunar modules in January 2025, and found it on a collision course with the Moon. “There is no danger to Earth,” said Jimi Russell, a spokesperson for NASA, who confirmed that the agency will monitor the rocket’s booster for training purposes and later study the impact site for scientific research.
This Falcon 9 rocket was part of a U.S.-Japanese mission that successfully transported two private lunar modules last year: the Blue Ghost from Firefly Aerospace, which completed the first entirely successful private lunar landing, and a module from Japan’s ispace, which unfortunately crash-landed.
The upper stage of the Falcon 9, comparable in size to a five-story building and weighing at least 4,000 kilograms on Earth, is not designed for reuse and will remain in space unless it collides with another celestial body. Astronomer Bill Gray, who first observed the trajectory, predicts the impact will occur near the Einstein crater on the side of the Moon visible from Earth, creating a crater with a diameter of over 17 meters.
