August 5, 2026 | 03:36 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - On August 5, 2026, a SpaceX rocket collided with the Moon, leaving behind a new crater on the surface, according to The Independent and The Guardian.
The size of a five-story building, the object is part of Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft that launched in January 2025. It was part of a US and Japanese mission carrying a lunar lander to the Moon's surface.
Researchers previously predicted the body of the rocket to crash into the Moon at 6:35 a.m. GMT (1:35 p.m. Jakarta time or 7:35 a.m. UK time).
The object—weighing about 4,000 kilograms—was expected to hit the western edge of the Moon's surface near the Einstein Creator at 5,400mph (8,690 km/h), at the force of three tons of TNT.
The crash was expected to cause an explosive light from the impact, though observers watching through telescopes did not see any sign of it, The Independent reported on Wednesday. The rocket body was also expected to kick up a miles-long plume of lunar dust upon collision.
The American space agency Nasa also said the impact would leave behind a new crater about 18 meters wide and four meters deep.
How did the SpaceX Rocket collision happen?
The upper stages of a SpaceX rocket usually fall back into the Earth's atmosphere, burning away or dropping right into the ocean.
The Falcon 9 was designed to be reusable, intended for what the company described as "the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond."
SpaceX did not intend for the Moon collision to happen.
But the rocket required more thrust than other space missions closer to Earth, causing the second stage of the spacecraft to be shed and remain in space.
Nevertheless, the body of the rocket was discovered this year to be on an orbital trajectory toward the moon, unable to change course since it had dumped all its fuel.
According to SpaceX director of Nasa science and Dragon programs Julianna Scheiman on Monday, what happened was "essentially a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces has put [the rocket body] on a path toward the moon.”
Is it any danger to the Earth?
Bill Gray, the creator of widely used astronomy software who published a report on the collision in April, said the collision "doesn't present a danger to anyone" on Earth, though he raised the concern about "carelessness" in disposing of leftover space hardware.
Nasa officials echoed the sentiment, and as the BBC reported, they are planning to collect the lunar data from the event.
Is the collision visible from the Earth?
Due to the location of the impact, it is difficult to see from Earth.
But ground telescopes in America are working to capture images from the collision—which could take days.
In space, Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea's Danuri probe, will track the flash, plume and new crater from the impact of the collision. Images are also expected to appear in the coming days.
Are Moon collisions with space junks common?
According to The Guardian, space junk impacts such as one of the Falcon 9 rockets are rare.
In 2022, a Chinese rocket stage crashed into the moon after a lunar test mission, and an intentional collision was launched by Nasa in 2009 to study the plume.
Several other lunar crashes occurred over the years, including the 2023 Russian Luna-25 mission and the 2019 Indian Chandrayaan-2 lander mission.
According to Julianna Scheiman, SpaceX is working with Nasa to discuss ways to prevent future Moon collisions.
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