SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon, carves out new crater
A new crater has likely formed on the moon after a heavy SpaceX rocket stage the size of a school bus collided with it after running adrift in space. Here’s how it happened
READING LEVEL: GREEN
The moon likely has a brand new crater after a four-tonne chunk of SpaceX hardware the size of a school bus crashed into its surface.
A telescope in Chile has captured evidence of a stream of debris coming from the moon after part of a SpaceX rocket collided with it.
While the impact won’t threaten Earth, scientists said it would have carved a new crater into the lunar surface, offering a rare chance to study what happens when human-made objects collide with another world.
Scientists anticipated the Falcon 9 upper stage was going to strike the lunar surface on Wednesday morning, US time.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) confirmed the collision happened on Wednesday, based on observations recorded by its Very Large Telescope.
The telescope “detected spectral lines*,” the ESO said in a social media post, further describing them as “chemical fingerprints” of “sodium* and lithium* gas in the impact plume* lasting for 5-10 minutes after impact.”
“The sodium likely originated from the lunar soil, whereas the lithium could come from the rocket itself,” the post continued, adding that the team would offer more details following fuller analysis.
Retired astrophysicist* Dr Jonathan McDowell told the Associated Press that the crash likely happened near the Einstein Crater on the western limb of the moon, which is near the edge of the near and far sides and very difficult to see from Earth.
“There’s no doubt in my mind” that the rocket “is now in teeny, little pieces scattered over the moon near Einstein Crater,” Dr McDowell told AP. “As a physicist, I know that what goes up must come down.”
Dr McDowell said the 8,690km/hr crash was inevitable*.
“I have Sir Isaac Newton’s personal assurance that it did indeed hit the moon, there’s no way for it to have escaped,” he told international media agency, AFP.
According to AP, the Falcon rocket stage was used last year to launch a pair of private lunar landers, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience.
Unlike most rocket stages, which either burn up in Earth’s atmosphere or fall harmlessly into the ocean after completing their job, this one was travelling far beyond Earth’s orbit.
After releasing its payload*, it vented its remaining fuel and became just over four tonnes of uncontrolled space junk.
Earlier this year, astronomers confirmed gravity and solar activity had gradually nudged it onto a collision course with the moon.
“What has happened is essentially a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces have put it on a path toward the moon,” SpaceX director of NASA science and Dragon programs Julianna Scheiman said.
The incident has also reignited debate over the growing amount of debris humanity is leaving in space.
The Earth is already surrounded by tens of thousands of tracked objects and millions of smaller fragments, forcing satellites and spacecraft to regularly manoeuvre* out of harm’s way.
Lunar impacts remain rare, but they are not unprecedented*.
A Chinese rocket stage accidentally struck the moon in 2022 after a test mission, while NASA deliberately crashed a rocket stage into the lunar surface in 2009 to study the plume of debris it created.
Several attempted moon landings have also ended in spectacular failure in recent years, including Russia’s Luna-25 mission in 2023 and India’s Chandrayaan-2 lander in 2019.
Israeli spacecraft Beresheet also crashed in 2019, scattering its unusual cargo, consisting of microscopic tardigrades* – tiny animals famous for surviving some of the harshest conditions known to science – across the lunar surface.
NASA and SpaceX are now discussing ways to prevent similar impacts in future as missions to the moon become increasingly common.
Last month, the United Nations marked International Moon Day on July 20 by shining the spotlight on the environmental challenges created by space exploration.
According to its official site, member states of the UN have adopted guidelines to “limit the creation of space debris by reducing unnecessary waste, preventing explosions, avoiding the deliberate destruction of spacecraft and safely removing retired satellites and rocket stages from orbit.”
Launching countries are already responsible for any damage caused by their space objects on Earth under the 1972 UN Liability Convention.
Despite these guidelines, there are no legally binding international laws that target space junk on the moon.
The moon collision comes at a remarkable moment in SpaceX’s history, as founder Elon Musk enjoys his new status as the world’s first trillionaire.
The company only entered the stock exchange in June in what analysts described as the largest IPO* ever, raising about US$50 billion (A$77 billion) at a valuation north of US$2.2 trillion (A$3.4 trillion) and instantly becoming one of the world’s most valuable listed technology companies.
However the moon crash has impacted more than the lunar surface and may not play all that well with Wall Street* confidence now there’s a very public instance of habitual littering by the tech giant in space.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- spectral lines: lines that can be used to identify atoms, elements and molecules existing in a star, a cloud of interstellar gas or a galaxy
- sodium: a soft, silvery-white metal
- lithium: a silvery-white alkali metal that does not occur freely in nature and is found in rechargeable batteries
- plume: a long column of rising smoke, dust or gas
- astrophysicist: a scientist who goes by the laws of physics and chemistry to study how the universe works
- inevitable: certain to happen and impossible to avoid
- payload: the actual spacecraft the rocket was launching
- manoeuvre: skilfully move
- unprecedented: never seen or experienced before
- tardigrades: microscopic, eight-legged animals that are 0.05 to 1.2 millimetres long and are considered to be one of the most resilient creatures on Earth, withstanding extreme cold and heat as well as the vacuum of space
- IPO: an Initial Public Offering, where a company sells stock to the public on the sharemarket for the first time
- Wall Street: the centre of the New York stock exchange
EXTRA READING
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Elon Musk: history’s first trillionaire
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QUICK QUIZ
1. What caused the SpaceX rocket stage to crash into the moon?
2. How was the crash detected?
3. Which part of the moon did it crash into?
4. What effect did the crash likely have on the moon?
5. What are some of the UN guidelines on limiting space junk?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What could they do?
What types of technologies do you think scientists could develop to stop spacecraft crashing into the moon, or other spacecraft? Create a design of at least one feature that could be added to, or used in spacecraft design to prevent crashes. (Hint: do you think safety features in cars could be adapted?)
Time: Spend at least 30 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
2. Extension
What could possibly be done to reduce the problem of so much space junk? Brainstorm as many ideas as you can think of.
Time: Spend at least 15 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.