There’s a brand-new crater on the moon after a SpaceX rocket collided with the lunar surface two weeks ago, and now we finally have pictures of it.
On Aug. 5, the Falcon 9 upper stage, weighing nearly 9,000 pounds, struck the moon at approximately 5,400 miles per hour, releasing energy equivalent to nearly three tons of TNT.
Download the Straight Arrow app today to get the stories that matter free from manipulation, bias or agenda.™
Point phone camera here
It had been floating in space since its launch in January 2025. During its time in space, it launched a pair of private moon landers with experiments and a tiny rover.
It was all part of NASA’s push to commercialize lunar exploration.
New photos from NASA
NASA knew this collision was going to happen well before it occurred and was able to capture before and after pictures of the impact site.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the photos. It has been circling the Moon since 2009, giving scientists their most detailed view yet of what happens when human-made debris crashes into the lunar surface.
Images show the crater surrounded by bright and dark streaks of ejected material. It measures about 60 feet in diameter and just under 10 feet deep.
Round out your reading
- All your questions about napping, answered.
- Trump’s $5,000 promise echoes past payouts that never materialized.
- Inside the effort to make data centers pay their share of electricity costs.
- Why did the Feds seize the ’largest Martian meteorite on Earth’?
- Photos and video show exactly where and when Trump visited Ground Zero after 9/11.
