A SpaceX rocket is drifting towards the Moon, and when it collides, the impact flash might be visible from Earth. The rocket’s upper stage, equivalent to a five-story building, is set to strike the Moon on Wednesday, creating a crater and launching dust and rubble into the air.
Last year, SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket as part of a joint US-Japanese mission transporting two lunar landers and scientific gear to the Moon. The abandoned segment, measuring about 40 feet and weighing approximately 10,000 pounds, could have been redirected into orbit around the Sun to prevent the crash, according to experts.
Space-tracking specialist Bill Gray estimates the rocket will hit the Moon at a speed of about 5,400mph, significantly faster than the speed of sound. The impact is anticipated near the Einstein Crater on the Moon’s sunlit western edge.
Although the collision itself won’t be visible from Earth, astronomers suggest that the brief impact flash might be seen through powerful telescopes. The resulting plume of dust and debris, visible for several miles above the lunar surface, could linger for tens of minutes within telescope view.
Astronomer Bill Gray, who foresaw the rocket’s lunar collision, mentioned on his Project Pluto website the possibility of witnessing the flash and ejected rocks from the crater. Dr. Matt Bothwell, a public astronomer at the University of Cambridge, indicated that individuals with advanced telescopes may detect a flash emanating from the Moon’s surface.
Observers in the eastern US, Canada, and parts of South America are expected to have the best vantage points to witness the event. While the specific space junk’s impact is not a significant concern, scientists highlight the increasing risk as more objects accumulate in orbit.
Gray emphasized the congestion in space and plans to observe the aftermath from New Brunswick, Canada. This incident marks the second unintentional collision of a discarded rocket with the Moon, following a Chinese rocket segment that created craters on the Moon’s far side in 2022.
Benjamin Fernando from Los Alamos National Laboratory expressed interest in assessing the debris impact’s potential hazard to future astronauts. Fernando predicts the impact will result in a 90-foot wide and 16-foot deep crater, visible to spacecraft but too small to observe from Earth.
Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that this impact poses no immediate threat but stressed the importance of avoiding chaotic orbits for rocket stages in the future, especially with the prospect of establishing long-term Moon bases.
