A SpaceX rocket fragment striking the moon at 8,690km/h created a massive plume, with telescopes detecting sodium and lithium gas spanning tens of kilometers.

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

A four-tonne piece of SpaceX rocket debris is believed to have slammed into the Moon at around 8,700 kmph, after drifting through space for more than a year.