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Before-and-After NASA Images Show Crater Carved by a SpaceX Rocket that Slammed Into the Moon
Scientists measured the crater at 60 feet wide and less than 10 feet deep after the rocket impact excavated bright and dark lunar material.
- On Tuesday, NASA released high-resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing a 60-foot-wide crater on the Moon carved by a SpaceX Falcon 9 impact on August 5.
- The four-ton Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the Moon after drifting through space for over a year following its January 15, 2025, launch, with shifts in gravity and solar activity causing the unplanned collision.
- Scientists determined the crater is less than 10 feet deep with material excavated from 1.5 feet below the surface, requiring precise tilting of the LRO while traveling at 1 mile per second.
- Using preliminary data from the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter , NASA collaborated with the Korea AeroSpace Administration to refine the impact site imagery and validate tracking predictions.
- NASA used the collision to test planetary defense techniques, with NASA lunar scientist Kelsey Young stating scientists are studying the crater to "prepare for how to shield astronauts" and future infrastructure.
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Before-and-after NASA images show crater carved by a SpaceX rocket that slammed into the moon
A NASA spacecraft circling the moon is providing the sharpest views yet of the crater carved by a crashing SpaceX rocket.
·New York, United States
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NASA's LRO Images Falcon 9 Crater on Moon, Learns New Details - NASA Science
3 min read NASA’s LRO Images Falcon 9 Crater on Moon, Learns New Details This is an animated before-and-after view of the crater formed after a Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon’s surface on Aug. 5, 2026. These images were taken between Aug. 11 and 12 by the Narrow-Angle Camera on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. These images are enlarged three times from the original, with north facing up, and they cover an area about a quarter of a mil…
·Washington, United States
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left7Leaning Right2Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Left
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Left
47% Left
L 47%
C 40%
13%
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