A rocket crashed into the Moon today – but scientists explain why it’s not as bad as it sounds

A rocket accidentally crashed into the Moon earlier today – and scientists are already studying what happened.

The collision of a SpaceX rocket hit the Moon at approximately 7:35 BST, crashing near the Einstein Crater, which is the side of the Moon that is visible from Earth.

A spokesperson for NASA has since confirmed the collision threatens no danger to Earth, but will instead be used by NASA to “collect lunar data from the event and refine techniques for tracking objects in space”. 

Owned by Elon Musk, the SpaceX rocket weighs up to 4,000kg and was launched in January 2025 to carry scientific equipment to the Moon. Well, I guessed it’s achieved its mission?

It made contact with the Moon on the opposite side to Apollo 11’s famous landing site, where Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Armstrong became the first people to walk on the Moon. 

So, why don’t we have any pictures of it yet? 

Unluckily for amateur astronomers who happened to be looking through their telescopes at 7:35am this morning, the tiny flash produced by the crash would have been too faint to see due to the collision occurring in broad daylight for many parts of the world. Additionally, the flash only lasted a few seconds – if you blinked, you might’ve missed it.

Those with a keener eye might’ve spotted the aftermath, however, as a plume of dust created by the collision would’ve lasted for much longer than the initial crash. This dust cloud could’ve risen as high as 100km. 

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But will NASA release its pictures? Well, it’s confirmed it doesn’t have any – yet. The spacecraft orbiting the Moon at the time of the collision wasn’t positioned correctly to witness the crash. However, it will be able to document the impact and produce pictures of the Moon’s new scar. 

We’re all waiting on the most likely chance of seeing any images of the crash, which will hopefully come from extremely powerful telescopes positioned in the Americas. These images are due to be released by Nasa later today. 

Some people are concerned about potential environmental effects

Some scientists aren’t too excited about the collision, however. Astronomer Matt Bothwell warned it “could feasibly be, within a few decades, hard to get past Earth’s orbit because space is so crowded” with space debris.

The SpaceX rocket is the same size as a school bus, and left a crater up to 30 metres wide. 

This morning’s collision means the Moon now has over three thousand artificial objects littered on it. The debris weighs around a total of 190 tonnes – that’s a lot to carry.

SpaceX has been contacted for comment.

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Featured image via Canva