A recent incident involving a SpaceX rocket colliding with the moon has been captured by a South Korean satellite. Images taken by the Korean lunar orbiter Danuri show a noticeable mark near the Einstein Crater caused by the crash of the SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage.
The images, acquired by the orbiter’s high-resolution Lunar Terrain Imager (LUTI) camera, display a smudge on the lunar surface, varying in darkness across different shots. The SpaceX rocket’s second stage, launched in January 2025, veered off course over the past year following the deployment of two lunar landers into space. The collision with the moon occurred unintentionally but was expected, with the rocket striking the surface at a speed of approximately 8,700 km/hour.
Telescopes on Earth also observed the debris plume resulting from the crash, confirming the impact before the release of the satellite images. The Korean orbiter Danuri, launched in 2022 aboard a SpaceX rocket, has been in orbit around 100 kilometers above the moon’s poles since December of that year. Originally slated for a one-year mission, its operational lifespan has been extended to 2027.
