They've done it. NASA's lunar probe has photographed the crater caused by a SpaceX rocket smashing into the Moon - BBC Sky at Night Magazine

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully spotted the unique double crater left behind by a spent SpaceX rocket booster.

SpaceX Meets the Moon: NASA Snaps Photos of the Mystery Rocket Crash Site

Space junk has officially left a permanent mark on our closest celestial neighbor. Back in early 2022, astronomers realized a stray piece of space hardware was on a direct, unyielding collision course with the Moon. It turned out to be a discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper-stage booster from a launch that took place way back in 2015. Naturally, space enthusiasts and scientists alike held their breath.

Fast forward to today, and NASA has finally done it. The agency's trusty Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has managed to photograph the exact impact site. But the pictures didn't just show a hole in the ground—they revealed something utterly unexpected that has scientists scratching their heads.

The Mystery of the Double Crater

When an ordinary rocket crashes into a planetary body at high speeds, physics usually predicts a single, neat, bowl-shaped depression. Think of a classic meteorite impact. Yet, when the LRO camera team looked at the high-resolution photos of the impact site, they spotted something weird.

The crash didn't leave just one crater. It left two.

There is an eastern crater measuring about 18 meters (59 feet) across, overlapping a western crater that is roughly 16 meters (52 feet) across. Combined, this strange double-crater spans nearly 28 meters. Why would a single rocket tube carve out two distinct holes side by side? The answer likely comes down to how the rocket was built.

Heavy Ends and Empty Tanks

Most spent rocket stages are pretty much empty aluminum tubes by the time they finish their missions, except for heavy engine components concentrated at one end. Scientists believe that this specific Falcon 9 booster had massive, heavy chunks of hardware—likely the main engine bell and heavy structural frames—living entirely at one end, while the rest of the body remained mostly empty shell weight.

As the rocket tumbled aimlessly through deep space for seven years, it wasn't flying straight. It was likely end-over-end spinning or wobbling. When it finally slammed into the lunar surface at a blistering speed of roughly 5,500 miles per hour, the two distinct mass centers—the heavy engine block versus the lighter fuel tank structure—created two separate impact footprints.

It is a rare cosmic coincidence that gave researchers a brand-new real-world experiment on hypervelocity impacts in low-gravity environments.

Why This Space Crash Actually Matters

Accidental rocket impacts on the Moon are remarkably rare to capture so clearly, even though space agencies occasionally crash intentional probes into the lunar surface to study moonquakes and composition (remember NASA's LCROSS mission back in 2009?). This unplanned SpaceX crash turned out to be a free physics lesson.

Normally, tracking space debris is relatively straightforward in low Earth orbit. Once objects drift past the Earth-Moon system, however, predicting their paths becomes an astronomical guessing game. This event highlights a growing, long-term challenge for modern space exploration: cleaning up our cosmic backyard.

As commercial spaceflight explodes and more companies send payloads deeper into the solar system, keeping track of spent hardware is becoming an urgent priority. While hitting the Moon doesn't threaten anyone on Earth, it serves as a wake-up call about the sheer amount of derelict metal floating around between here and the stars.

For now, the LRO will keep circling the Moon, snapping pictures of ancient rocks and fresh man-made scars alike. The SpaceX crater stands as a quirky monument to humanity's first steps into deep-space industrial clutter—a messy, fascinating reminder that what goes up doesn't always come down where we planned.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which SpaceX rocket hit the Moon?

The debris was identified as the second-stage booster from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite way back in February 2015.

2. When did the rocket crash into the Moon?

The impact took place on March 4, 2022, on the far side of the Moon near the Hertzsprung crater, though it took time for NASA's orbiter to pass over the site and capture clear images.

3. Why did the impact create a double crater?

Scientists believe the unusual double crater was caused by the rocket having heavy mass concentrated at one end (the engine components) and a lighter structure at the other, creating two distinct impact points when it hit.

4. Did the impact cause any danger to Earth?

No. The collision happened entirely on the Moon and posed zero risk to people, property, or satellites orbiting Earth.

5. Can we see the crater from Earth using a backyard telescope?

Unfortunately, no. The crater is located on the far side of the Moon, meaning it faces away from Earth permanently. Even if it were on the near side, it is far too small to be resolved by amateur telescopes.