[Regnum] The spent upper stage of the American SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched in 2025, fell to the Moon. This was reported by the BBC on August 5.
According to NASA, the impact of the four-ton object on the Moon will leave a crater 18 meters in diameter and 3.6 meters deep. The object was traveling at a speed of 8,700 kilometers per hour. The estimated time of impact was around 8:35 Moscow time on August 5. The space agency emphasized that the event poses no threat to Earth, and its scientific value lies in the opportunity to study the composition of the lunar soil. Experts noted that meteorite collisions with similar energy occur on the moon every six days.
There is no official confirmation of the incident yet, as no satellite recorded the moment of contact, according to American journalists. They say scientists expect to confirm the impact later, after comparing images of the lunar surface. According to the BBC, there are currently approximately 3,000 man-made objects on the Moon, totaling 190 tons, the first of which was the Soviet Luna 2 station in 1959.
The BBC clarified that the object that fell to the Moon belonged to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched on January 15, 2025. The launch vehicle successfully launched the commercial lunar probes Blue Ghost and Resilience into space. According to NASA, after the probes separated, the empty four-ton upper stage remained in deep space. Due to its high trajectory and lack of fuel, the upper stage lacked the resources to perform a return maneuver to Earth. As a result, the object drifted in a chaotic orbit for 19 months until the Moon's gravity finally pulled it toward the surface.
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