Falcon 9 Moon Impact isn’t the first—lunar crashes span decades of space history
TL;DR Summary
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage that collided with the Moon on Aug. 5 was unintentional, joining a long history of human-made lunar impacts. Observers tracked the plume and noted that both planned and accidental impacts—such as Luna 2 (1959), Ranger 4 (1962), LCROSS and Chandrayaan-1, and a 2022 Long March 3C hit—have helped study the Moon’s interior and the presence of water. With renewed lunar activity and Artemis-era plans, disposal and reuse of spacecraft are under discussion, but such impacts remain relatively rare compared with natural meteoroid strikes.
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