A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster/upper stage is expected to crash into the Moon early Wednesday, creating an impact crater and kicking up a plume of dust and rubble. CBS News reports the crater could reach roughly 100 feet wide and 16 feet deep, citing observers tracking the planned collision.
The stage comes from a prior SpaceX lunar mission conducted more than a year ago, and it is described across outlets as drifting and left uncontrolled after it used remaining thrust. Several reports say the impact poses no danger to Earth because it targets the lunar surface. Scientists and some amateur sky watchers plan to observe the event, though they note viewing conditions may be limited because the expected strike region is near the Moon’s western limb.
While outlets broadly agree on the timing, the “accidental” nature of the impact, and the expected physical effects on the lunar surface, specific details vary in emphasis. Some pieces focus on the crater and dust plume, while others highlight how the stage’s trajectory resulted from orbital dynamics and why the object remained in space long enough to reach the Moon.
