A 4,000-kg SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the moon near crater Einstein after drifting through space since a January 2025 lunar mission. The impact produced a brief flash and a cloud containing sodium and lithium signatures detected by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile.

On Wednesday, August 5, the high-speed collision of the rocket's upper stage with the moon would carve out a crater. | World News

The impact will not be visible to the naked eye, but photos are expected to come from a lunar satellite at a later time.

A SpaceX rocket stage is set to impact the moon early Wednesday morning. This four-metric-ton object is traveling at high speed toward the lunar surface. Cosmic forces and solar…

Collision hit with the power of three tons of TNT and will leave behind a visible crater on the lunar surface