Falcon 9 Upper Stage Slams Into Moon at 5,400 mph, Carving 60-Foot Crater

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 9

NASA said the Falcon 9 upper stage from a January 2025 launch struck the Moon on Wednesday after drifting in space for more than a year, gouging a crater about 60 feet wide near Einstein and Bell craters.
Solar activity and gravitational forces drove the unplanned return, the agency said, adding the impact poses no danger to Earth.
The rocket had carried Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program; the lander itself successfully reached the lunar surface.
Elon Musk posted a simulation of the impact as SpaceX held its first earnings call since its June listing, reporting $7.81 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 92% from a year earlier.
The incident still leaves SpaceX central to NASA's Artemis moon plans, with Administrator Jared Isaacman saying the agency cannot build a permanent lunar presence without the company.