SpaceX Falcon 9 stage set to slam into moon at 5,400 mph
What's new: NASA and observatories plan to track the crash and dust plume as an unplanned lunar-impact experiment.
A spent upper stage from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to strike the moon early Wednesday at about 5,400 mph, after drifting in space since a January 2025 launch tied to Firefly Aerospace. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies projected the impact at about 2:35 a.m. ET and said the object poses no risk to Earth. Reports said the 4,000-kilogram rocket body is likely to hit near Einstein Crater on the moon's western limb. Scientists plan to watch for the flash, dust plume and new crater using large telescopes, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea's Danuri probe, hoping the accidental collision will yield data on how lunar material is blasted from the surface.