Before and after images from SpaceX rocket Moon crash released

Before and after pictures of the Moon after SpaceX debris hit its surface showing a new mark or crater. — Image caption,
Before and after pictures of the Moon after SpaceX debris hit its surface

7 August 2026, 08:20 BST

A new scar has appeared on the Moon after a leftover piece of a SpaceX rocket smashed into its surface.

Before-and-after images taken by South Korea's Danuri Moon orbiter show changes to the lunar landscape, after the empty rocket part crashed on Wednesday.

The crash did not put anyone on Earth in danger. The Moon is about 384,000 kilometres away and the impact was relatively small.

However, the event is useful for scientists because they can compare before-and-after images to see exactly how the Moon's surface changed, and learn more about what happens when human-made space junk, or other objects, hit the Moon.

More on this story:

Part of SpaceX rocket 'crashes into Moon'
Rocket part to crash into the Moon on Wednesday

A composite of satellite images show the surface of the moon before and after the crash of the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which was launched from Firefly Aerospace towards the moon in January 2025, in this handout image released on August 6, 2026.

South Korea's space agency said the pictures show changes in the ground near the crash site, as well as signs of material thrown out by the impact. That blasted-out material is called ejecta.

The rocket part hit near Einstein Crater, a large crater close to the Moon's western edge as seen from Earth's northern hemisphere.

It crashed at around 7:35am UK time on Wednesday, travelling at about 5,400 miles per hour - which is fast - seven times the speed of sound.

Image of the moon with a purple circle highlighting the potential crash site on the far left side as if viewing the moon from the northern hemisphere. — Image caption,
The rocket is thought to have hit near Einstein Crater, close to the Moon's western edge as seen from Earth

The object was the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A rocket stage is a section of a rocket.

Falcon 9's first stage is designed to return to Earth so it can be used again, but the upper stage usually carries the payload, such as equipment, deeper into space and is not reused.

This upper stage launched in January 2025, carrying two robotic Moon landers. After it had done its job, it was left in space and over time, gravity from Earth and the Moon helped change its path, eventually pulling it onto a collision course with the Moon.

SpaceX has said the impact was not intentional.

Annotated graphic of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used to launch a Firefly Aerospace lunar lander in January 2025. The rocket is shown as 70 metres (230 feet) tall and divided into three sections: the fairing at the top, which protects the payload during launch before breaking away; the second stage, highlighted and described as the portion expected to crash on the Moon; and the reusable first stage, which returns to Earth after launch. A separate illustration of the second stage notes that it is about the size of a five-storey building and weighs at least 4,000kg (8,800 lbs) on Earth.

The crash also raises questions about space junk, which means human-made objects left in space after missions.

Matt Bothwell, astronomer at the University of Cambridge, says: "Space is getting more and more crowded." As each year "we launch more stuff into space".

As more rockets and satellites are launched, scientists say it is becoming more important to plan what happens to old spacecraft parts after their missions end.

"It could feasibly be within a few decades that it's actually quite hard to get past Earth's orbit because space is so crowded," Bothwell warned.