We're Launching So Much Stuff At The Moon That We're Littering It With Space Junk Now
Jalopnik • • science
Key Points:
- A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage is predicted to crash onto the Moon near the Einstein crater on August 5, 2026, marking another instance of human-made debris impacting the lunar surface.
- This rocket stage was part of missions delivering commercial Moon landers, which themselves become lunar debris after mission completion, contributing to growing space junk on the Moon.
- Humanity has a history of leaving trash on the Moon, both intentionally, such as Apollo mission stages, and accidentally, as seen with a Chinese rocket impact in 2022; the upcoming SpaceX debris will be the second accidental impact.
- The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 requires space explorers to avoid harmful contamination of celestial bodies, but enforcement is limited, especially regarding private companies like SpaceX.
- To reduce lunar contamination risks, space agencies could send discarded rocket stages into solar orbit, but failure to manage space debris poses potential dangers for future Moon bases planned by the U.S. and China.
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