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Before-And-After Images Show Crater Carved By SpaceX Rocket That Slammed Into The Moon
Patch • • science
Key Points:
- NASA released before-and-after images of the impact site where the Falcon rocket’s upper stage collided with the moon at 5,400 mph on August 5, following over a year of drifting in space.
- The rocket had launched two private moon landers with experiments and a small rover in 2025, as part of NASA’s efforts to commercialize lunar exploration.
- The impact created a crater with distinct dark and bright streaks, indicating excavated surface material and fresh debris ejected from deeper beneath the lunar surface.
- The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, orbiting the moon since 2009, photographed the crater from 60 miles above a week after the collision, requiring adjustments to its camera orientation to capture the scene.
- South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft was the first to send back images of the crash site, highlighting international involvement in lunar observation.
