Upper stage impacting the moon on 2026 August 5
6 hours ago
- A Falcon 9 upper stage (2025-010D) from a 2025 lunar mission will impact the moon on August 5, 2026, at 06:34 UTC.
- The object has been tracked by asteroid surveys and amateur astronomers, with over 1,000 observations.
- Impact will occur near the crater Einstein on the near side of the moon, at latitude 19.455 N, longitude 266.406 E.
- The stage has a mass of about 4,900 kg and will hit at 2.43 km/s, releasing 14.5 billion joules of energy.
- The impact flash and ejecta plume may be visible, but predictions are uncertain due to solar radiation pressure.
- Similar impacts include the Chang'e-5 T1 upper stage in 2022, which created a double crater.
- The event poses no danger to Earth or lunar assets, but highlights space junk issues.
- Observing the impact could provide scientific data on crater formation and debris behavior.