The discarded upper portion of a rocket launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX last year was expected to unintentionally crash into the moon early Wednesday, adding yet another crater to the surface of our nearest neighbor.
The crash was predicted earlier this week by independent astronomer Bill Gray, who estimated that the rocket would hit the moon at around 5,400 miles an hour. NASA, which is tracking the rocket, did not immediately confirm that the impact occurred, but the agency’s calculations have given a 100 percent chance that the crash will occur.
The rocket was launched by SpaceX in January 2025 to deliver a lander to the moon’s surface. A satellite is supposed to pass over the crater area in about a week, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge told the BBC.
Space debris, especially in and around Earth, has been a concern for researchers, although the SpaceX rocket crash is not supposed to affect our planet. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, a close ally of Musk, told Fox News on Wednesday morning that “the moon has clearly seen better days.”
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
The post Wayward SpaceX rocket expected to crash into moon appeared first on Washington Post.
