South Korea’s Danuri Orbiter Photographs New Lunar Crater from SpaceX Rocket Impact

The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket collided with the moon, creating a fresh crater that South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter has captured in detailed images. The spacecraft imaged the site before and after the collision occurred.

This event took place on August 5, after months of the rocket stage drifting through space before striking the lunar surface. Danuri's photos provide scientists an unprecedented view of the fresh crater and the debris scattered by the impact.

The Falcon 9 component originated from a launch on January 15, 2025, which sent private lunar landers — Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience — toward the moon. While Blue Ghost successfully landed, Resilience crashed during its descent.

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This incident offered a rare scientific opportunity to observe a lunar impact almost in real time. According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Danuri began monitoring the region about 30 minutes prior to the collision and collected eight sets of images by flying over the impact zone several times.

Danuri Chronicles the Moon’s Latest Impact

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, or Danuri, systematically documented the site before and after the Falcon 9 upper stage’s collision with the lunar surface.

These comparative images unveiled surface alterations around the impact site and the scattered ejecta material. Having pre-impact data enabled scientists to distinguish the new impact effects from existing lunar features.

KARI representatives reported that Danuri successfully obtained imagery both before and immediately after impact. In a statement, the agency noted these observations will advance the study of lunar surface changes induced by human-made collisions.

“Danuri began observations about 30 minutes before the collision and, through orbit control, passed over the impact site multiple times, conducting a total of 8 imaging sessions,” stated the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) via X. “Through this observation, changes in the terrain around the impact site and traces of ejecta spread were confirmed.”

The collision occurred on August 5 at 2:34 a.m. EDT (0634 GMT), aligning with prior predictions. Scientists estimate the stage hit the lunar surface at approximately 5,400 mph (8,690 kph), forming an estimated crater up to 89 feet (27 meters) wide.

Tracing the Journey of the Falcon 9 Stage to the Moon

The impacted object was the upper stage from a SpaceX Falcon 9 mission launched in early 2025. After delivering its cargo to lunar orbit, it was left adrift, lacking fuel for controlled maneuvers. Unlike the Falcon 9’s first stage that returned safely to Earth, this upper section remained in a drifting orbit.

Solar radiation and gravitational influences gradually altered its path, steering the 4,000-kilogram (8,800-pound) booster toward the lunar surface. Though unintended, the crash presents valuable data on how human space debris interacts with the moon’s environment.

An Increasing Presence of Human Debris on the Moon

The Falcon 9 upper stage isn’t the first piece of space hardware to collide with the moon. In March 2022, the third stage of a Chinese Long March 3C rocket also struck the lunar surface. Lunar impact sites left by NASA’s Apollo program, including several deliberately crashed Saturn V rocket stages, have provided crucial insights into the moon’s internal structure.

KARI plans to merge Danuri’s data with future information from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). This collaboration is expected to deepen understanding of the Falcon 9 impact’s effects.

Danuri is South Korea’s inaugural lunar mission, launched on August 4, 2022 via Falcon 9. It entered lunar orbit four months later and carries six scientific instruments, including NASA’s ShadowCam, which searches for water ice in permanently shadowed polar regions.

Our team at @iaa_csic has captured the impact on the Moon of the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket. We attach a preliminary video showing the evolution of the ejected material. The black area corresponds to the lunar disk @SpaceX @JuanLuisRizos @elonmusk @tiempobrasero @A3Noticias… pic.twitter.com/5Ry7hRdCeS

— Jose Maria Madiedo (@jmmadiedo) August 6, 2026

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