A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage has now left a fresh mark on the Moon. The upper stage struck the lunar surface at about 06:35 UTC on August 5, 2026, near Einstein Crater. It was traveling at roughly 5,400 mph, releasing energy comparable to about three tons of TNT. There was no danger to Earth.
The stage was left over from the January 15, 2025 launch that carried Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 and ispace’s Resilience landers toward the Moon. After completing its job, the rocket was left in space. Gravity gradually pushed its path toward the Moon, turning a piece of discarded hardware into an unexpected lunar experiment.
