AI Generated Image
A South Korean satellite has captured images of the SpaceX rocket's impact on the Moon
Notebookcheck • • science
Key Points:
- On August 5, 2026, the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, launched in January 2025 to deploy Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander, crashed into the Moon at 5,400 mph after remaining in lunar orbit due to solar wind and gravitational forces.
- The 18-meter-long rocket stage impact was not visible from Earth, and few images of the event were initially captured by astronomers.
- Recently, South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft, operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, flew over the impact site and released images showing a darker area and a newly formed crater on the Moon.
- Although dust was ejected during the impact, it is not visible in the images taken by the Danuri probe during its flybys.
