A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is on a collision course with the Moon

A piece of SpaceX hardware is tracked to slam into the Moon at extreme speed this August, but despite the dramatic setup, you probably will not see it happen.

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According to astronomer and well-known near-Earth object tracker Bill Gray, a Falcon 9 upper stage from a 2025 launch is now on a collision course with the lunar surface, with impact predicted for August 5 at roughly 6:44 UTC. The rocket stage, which completed its mission before drifting into a high orbit, has been tracked for months and is expected to strike near the Moon's limb, close to the Einstein crater.

While the idea of a rocket hitting the Moon sounds like a major event, the reality is more subtle. Traveling at around 8700 kilometers per hour, the object will hit without atmospheric resistance, but the resulting impact is expected to be too small to observe from Earth. This is not the first time space junk has made contact either.

In 2022, another rocket body created a double crater that was only confirmed after NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the site. The incident highlights a growing issue, as more missions leave hardware in unpredictable orbits that are rarely tracked once they move beyond Earth.

The upcoming impact poses no risk, but it does raise questions about how space agencies handle debris beyond low Earth orbit. As launches increase, and space becomes a much more achievable place to more humans that want to use the area for various reasons, there will be a proportional increase in the amount of space junk.

In other news, Google has showcased a new AI-powered feature that is designed to speed up the time it takes to choose an outfit.