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NASA has released new images of an 18-meter-wide and under-3-meter-deep crater on the Moon, created by the impact of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage that crashed into the lunar surface on August 5. Photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) between August 11 and August 12, the site features distinct bands of fresh sub-surface material and space-weathered dust.
Mapping the Falcon 9 Impact Site via LRO telemetry
Operating in a polar orbit since 2009, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter crosses from pole to pole every two hours while the lunar body rotates beneath its trajectory. This orbital cadence allows the LRO camera systems to capture identical coordinates under varying solar angles.
According to NASA statements, the LRO captured multiple angles of the crash site between August 11 and August 12, following the initial August 5 impact. The resulting depression spans 18 meters in width and plunges to a depth of under 3 meters, measurements calculated directly from the shadows cast across the lunar regolith.
The Falcon 9 rocket stage responsible for the impact was originally launched in January 2025. Its primary payload was the Blue Ghost 1 lander built by Firefly Aerospace, part of a commercial delivery mission that achieved a successful soft landing on the Moon.
Subsurface Mechanics: Dark Bands and Fresh Ejecta
The LRO photographs exposed distinct visual contrasts around the crater perimeter, highlighting both dark and light banding.
According to NASA, the dark bands “are formed by surface dust and rocks long altered by the solar wind, galactic cosmic rays, and micrometeoroid impacts.” These weathered particles were forcefully ejected from a depth of roughly 45 centimeters below the pristine lunar surface during the collision.
Conversely, the brighter bands ringing the immediate edge of the crater consist of unweathered, newly exposed material dragged up from deeper sub-surface strata. South Korea’s space agency previously published independent images of the impact zone on August 6, corroborating the location before NASA’s targeted LRO passes.
The 30-Second Verdict on Lunar Traffic Monitoring
- The Hardware: A Falcon 9 upper stage from a January 2025 Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost 1 mission.
- The Impact Date: August 5.
- The Dimensions: 18 meters wide and less than 3 meters deep.
- The Imaging Source: NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), capturing images between August 11 and August 12.
- International Observation: South Korea’s space agency released initial images of the site on August 6.
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