FOUR-TON ROCKET FRAGMENT CRASHES ON THE MOON

WASHINGTON, AUGUST 5 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ - A four-ton fragment of a used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed onto the Moon's surface at a speed of nearly 9,000 kilometres per hour, creating a new crater, The Guardian reports.

According to the report, the house-sized fragment had been in space since last year.

Astronomers only recently determined that the rocket part, which had used up its fuel and was left uncontrolled, was on a trajectory that would end with an impact on the Moon.

NASA estimated that the impact created a crater about 18 metres wide and three metres deep.

The Falcon 9 rocket was launched on December 15, 2025, carrying the Firefly lunar lander and the Japanese Resilience lunar lander into space.