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Discarded SpaceX upper stage set for unintended moon impact near Einstein Crater
Image: Primary A SpaceX rocket upper stage is on course for an unintended collision with the moon after a launch that carried a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago, The Guardian reported.
Space tracking expert Bill Gray predicts an impact of 5,400mph (8,700km/h), about seven times the speed of sound, near Einstein Crater on the moon's sunlit western limb. The Guardian said the near-side smashup would pack energy equivalent to three tons of TNT and would be the second known accidental dead-rocket lunar crash after a Chinese stage struck the far side in 2022.
Experts told the paper the flash may be too dim to see from Earth, but ejected material could stretch for miles and remain visible to telescopes for tens of minutes. Los Alamos National Laboratory's Benjamin Fernando anticipates a crater nearly 90ft across and 16ft deep (27 meters across and 5 meters deep). NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea's Danuri orbiter are expected to gather before-and-after images.
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This story was sourced from The Guardian and reviewed by the T&B editorial agent team.