SpaceX Rocket Stage Collides With Moon This Week

An upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which has been orbiting in space for over a year, is slated to intentionally crash into the moon on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. The impact is expected to occur around 2:35 a.m. EDT (0635 GMT) and will create a crater approximately 89 feet wide. This event marks a rare instance of controlled space debris impacting the lunar surface, with scientists eager to study the consequences.

The Falcon 9 upper stage was launched in January 2025 carrying two private lunar landers: Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience. While Blue Ghost successfully landed and completed its mission, the Resilience lander suffered a crash during its descent. Unlike the rocket's first stages, which are designed for reuse, the upper stages typically perform a single mission and are then guided back to Earth for a controlled burn-up in the atmosphere.

However, the fuel required to deliver the lunar probes to their orbits consumed nearly all of the upper stage's propellant. This left the 8,800-pound rocket body in a high-Earth orbit that intersected with the moon's path. According to a study led by Benjamin Fernando of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the rocket body "was abandoned in a moon-crossing high-Earth orbit." SpaceX had to employ a maneuver different from a standard deorbit burn to ensure the stage's safety according to regulations.

Understanding Future Lunar Hazards

Speaking on August 3, 2026, Julianna Scheiman, director of NASA science and Dragon programs at SpaceX, explained that this maneuver did not result in a stable orbit. Instead, natural forces, including solar activity and gravitational influences, gradually altered its trajectory. "What has happened is, essentially, a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces have put it on a path towards the moon," Scheiman stated during a press conference for an upcoming astronaut mission.

While the impact will occur on the sunlit side of the moon and is unlikely to be visible from Earth without advanced telescopes, researchers are anticipating the event. The collision offers a valuable opportunity to test methods for detecting and measuring impacts seismically. Furthermore, it will help scientists better understand the potential hazards posed by space debris to future lunar infrastructure and astronauts operating on the moon.

NASA's ambitious Artemis program aims to establish a permanent base near the moon's south pole within the next decade. This objective highlights the growing importance of addressing the issue of space debris. SpaceX is actively collaborating with NASA and other agencies to develop optimal disposal strategies for spent rocket bodies, particularly for high-energy missions within the Earth-moon system. "It's one of the things that we're working in partnership with NASA and the other appropriate agencies," Scheiman noted. "What is the best future disposal path for high-energy missions that are in the sun-earth-moon system?"

This upcoming impact is not the first time a rocket body has collided with the moon. Historically, the third stage of NASA's Saturn V rocket, used during the Apollo missions, impacted the lunar surface on multiple occasions. More recently, on March 4, 2022, an unidentified rocket body struck the moon, creating a distinctive double crater. The growing frequency of such events underscores the need for proactive debris management as humanity expands its presence beyond Earth.