Space Debris Leaves Fresh Lunar Crater After 2025 Falcon 9 Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper-stage, left in orbit after a 2025 mission, crashed into the Moon on Aug 5, 2026, creating a fresh ~60-foot (18-meter) crater. The impact—unlike most lunar craters—was due to human-made space junk, not an asteroid, and debris included lithium from the rocket and sodium from the lunar surface; NASA’s LRO and South Korea’s Danuri captured images confirming the crater and its surroundings. This event helps scientists study how spacecraft and debris affect the Moon and informs future mission risk assessments.