A South Korean satellite has captured images of a visible mark on the moon caused by a SpaceX rocket collision on Wednesday. The mark, appearing as a dark or light smudge near the Einstein Crater, was documented by the Korean lunar orbiter Danuri (KPLO). The orbiter’s high-resolution camera, Lunar Terrain Imager (LUTI), recorded before and after images of the SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacting the lunar surface. This collision occurred as the rocket was en route to the moon.
The SpaceX rocket’s second stage, launched in January 2025, had veered off course over the past year after deploying two lunar landers. Traveling at approximately 8,700 km/hour, the stage made an unintentional but expected crash landing on the moon on Wednesday.
Telescopes on Earth observed the debris plume generated by the impact, confirming the crash even before the satellite images were released. The Danuri orbiter, launched in 2022 aboard a SpaceX rocket, has been orbiting 100 kilometers above the moon’s poles since December of that year. Initially planned for a one-year mission, its operational period has been extended until 2027.