SpaceX rocket set to crash into the moon at seven times the speed of sound — but the 5,400 mph impact is entirely expected, and might even prove useful for NASA

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket Lifts Off During An Afternoon Demonstration Launch.

• A spent Falcon 9 upper-stage rocket will hit the Moon near the Einstein Crater on 5 August at 5,400 mph, releasing roughly the energy equivalent of three tons of TNT
• The impact, though unintentional, was predicted since September 2025, giving NASA's LRO and South Korea's Danuri time to plan before-and-after imaging of the new crater
• Its scientific value is a rehearsal rather than a measurement: no seismometers have operated on the moon since 1977, so the event mainly tests impact-localization methods for future experiments

At roughly 06:35 UTC on August 5 2026, a spent Falcon 9 upper stage will stop being space junk and start being a crater.