Key facts
- NASA released before-and-after photos of a crater on the moon's surface.
- The crater was formed by the impact of a SpaceX Falcon rocket's upper stage.
- The rocket stage crashed into the moon on August 5.
- The crater is approximately 60 feet (18 meters) across and less than 10 feet (3 meters) deep.
- The images were captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
NASA has released new images from its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing the crater left by a SpaceX rocket's upper stage that impacted the moon on August 5. The images provide the clearest view yet of the impact site, revealing a crater approximately 60 feet (18 meters) across and less than 10 feet (3 meters) deep.
The Falcon rocket's upper stage, which had been drifting in space for over a year, struck the lunar surface at 5,400 mph (8,700 kph). The impact was part of efforts to commercialize lunar exploration, having launched private moon landers. The before-and-after photos, taken a week after the collision from an altitude of 60 miles (96 kilometers), show distinct dark and bright streaks emanating from the crater. Scientists interpret the darker streaks as excavated material altered by space conditions, while the brighter rays indicate fresher material from deeper within the lunar surface.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting the moon since 2009, had to be maneuvered to capture the images. It took six days for the crash scene to come into view for the spacecraft, which completes a lunar polar orbit every two hours.