A drifting SpaceX rocket upper stage is expected to unintentionally impact the Moon on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. The stage is associated with a mission that launched a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago. Rather than entering a controlled orbit or recontacting the lunar surface in a planned way, the upper stage is described as drifting onto a high-speed collision path.
All sources say the impact will likely create a new crater and produce a visible plume of dust and rubble. Scientists and public observers are expected to monitor the event, with some framing it as an opportunity to observe the lunar surface response to an artificial impact. The accounts do not describe any risk to people on Earth, and they present the event as an unplanned but predictable lunar strike based on tracking of the stage’s trajectory.
While the reports emphasize the anticipated observational value of the impact, they consistently characterize it as accidental rather than mission-controlled.
