A telescope located in Chile has successfully recorded the aftermath of a SpaceX rocket fragment colliding with the moon at a speed of 8,690 kilometers per hour (5,400 miles per hour).
The Very Large Telescope, operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), detected “spectral lines,” which are vibrant representations of sodium and lithium gases, within the cloud of lunar dust generated by the impact.
The observatory noted that these “chemical signatures” of the dust plume were observable for a duration of five to ten minutes. According to Carl Schmidt, an astronomer affiliated with Boston University’s Center for Space Physics, the plume extended several tens of kilometers.
Benjamin Fernando from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico remarked that this collision could yield significant insights for upcoming seismic studies and for evaluating “risks associated with artificial space debris impacts.” With NASA’s aspirations for a sustained human presence on the Moon, understanding the dynamics of space debris in lunar orbit becomes increasingly vital.
The collision took place near the moon’s terminator line, the dividing line between its illuminated surface and the dark side. Similar to previous impacts, the rocket stage created a plume of lunar dust that was momentarily lit by sunlight, although it was challenging to observe from Earth without assistance.
While various satellites were orbiting the moon, none were positioned appropriately to capture the incident, which occurred around 6:35 AM GMT on Wednesday. The rocket fragment, measuring the height of a five-story building and weighing approximately four tonnes, contributed to the existing issue of space debris.
NASA, in conjunction with its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, plans to capture images of the impact site, which may reveal the remnants of the rocket. However, it may take several days to obtain this data.
The interplay between the impact plume and sunlight allowed scientists to gather preliminary information about its chemical composition. The sodium detected in the spectra is thought to have originated from the moon’s surface, while the lithium traces may have come from the rocket itself, as noted by Schmidt.
Schmidt commented, “This observation was not flawless and represents a preliminary analysis, but I wanted to share initial findings quickly, and we can provide further insights as we progress.” Both scientists and amateur astronomers had been eagerly anticipating the sight of the debris cloud resulting from this collision.
The Falcon 9 rocket, part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was launched in January 2025, carrying two lunar landers. Its booster returned to Earth, whereas the upper stage remained in space to facilitate the landers’ journey.
The rocket fragment is just one among the tens of thousands of pieces of “space junk” currently orbiting the Earth. While the moon frequently experiences impacts from natural space debris such as meteoroids, artificial impacts are considerably rarer.
Reporting contributed by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
