VLT spectra taken just after the Moon impact detected sodium gas rising tens of kilometers from vaporized lunar soil and lithium lines lasting 5 to 10 minutes from the Falcon 9 upper stage itself.
The stage had wandered for more than 18 months after its January 2025 launch because it lacked propellant for a controlled disposal burn, then finally struck the lunar surface.
NASA estimates the collision gouged an 18-meter-wide crater up to 4 meters deep; South Korea’s Danuri orbiter imaged the region before and after, though no spacecraft caught the impact directly.
The observations add to a small but growing record of human-made lunar crashes, including a Chinese rocket stage in 2022 and Russia’s Luna-25 in 2023.
NASA and SpaceX are now discussing formal disposal protocols as rising lunar traffic increases the risk of more unplanned impacts.