TLDR
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage crashed into the moon on August 5, creating a 60-foot-wide, 10-foot-deep crater
- NASA released detailed images taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, orbiting 60 miles above the moon’s surface
- The rocket had been drifting in space for over a year after launching on January 15
- SpaceX said a controlled deorbit was impossible due to the energy needed for lunar missions
- SpaceX stock dipped 0.8% to $142.23 on Wednesday, with investors focused on an upcoming share unlock and Starship test flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket upper stage crashed into the moon on August 5, creating a crater roughly the size of two buses laid end to end. NASA has now released the clearest images yet of the impact site.
🇺🇸 SpaceX punched a permanent hole in the Moon, and NASA just dropped the photos.
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 stage slammed into the surface two weeks ago at over 5,000 mph… and left a perfect 60-foot scar.
Elon is out here casually carving his name into another world now.… pic.twitter.com/dpKZYFh1p3
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 19, 2026
The images were captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which was flying about 60 miles above the moon’s surface at one mile per second. Engineers tilted the camera to point directly at the crater each time the orbiter passed over it.
Scientists estimate the crater is around 18 metres wide and less than three metres deep. The impact carried the force of roughly three tonnes of dynamite.
Why Did the Rocket Hit the Moon?
The Falcon 9 upper stage was launched on January 15, carrying lunar landers. After the mission, SpaceX could not perform a controlled deorbit because missions to the moon require far more energy than typical launches.
Spotted: Falcon 9 impact site
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured images of a new crater on the Moon. The crater formed on Aug. 5, 2026, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the lunar surface. https://t.co/aqduBYwpmg pic.twitter.com/hE83yvzmIk
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) August 18, 2026
“For most of our missions, we plan a controlled deorbit of the Falcon second stage so it safely reenters over the ocean,” SpaceX said in a post on X. This time, solar activity and gravity pulled the rocket toward the moon over more than a year of drifting.
SpaceX added that it “actively works to be as responsible as possible with hardware left in space.”
Space Is Getting Crowded
The crash has put a spotlight on how busy space is becoming. SpaceX currently has more than 10,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, serving over 12 million broadband subscribers.
Amazon and China’s Qianfan constellation are both planning to launch thousands more satellites. More objects in orbit means more debris, raising questions about long-term traffic management.
Options being discussed include active debris tracking, removal services, and designing satellites to burn up safely at the end of their lives.
SpaceX’s next rocket, Starship, is fully reusable. Both stages are designed to return to Earth, which means future missions should not leave hardware drifting toward the moon.
The 14th Starship test flight is expected later this month, which investors are watching closely.
Stock and Market Update
The moon crash had no direct effect on SpaceX’s share price. SpaceX went public in June at $135 per share, with shares trading just above $143 before Wednesday’s slight dip to $142.23.
Around 319 million additional shares held by early investors will become available to trade on August 20. That share unlock had previously weighed on the stock before a recovery following second-quarter earnings.
The S&P 500 was up 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% on Wednesday.
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