NASA releases new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images showing a fresh impact crater on the Moon created when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage crashed into the lunar surface earlier in August. The outlet reports describe the crater as large enough to be clearly visible from orbit, with details that help scientists evaluate how well they can predict impact outcomes.
NASA’s images are dated to captures taken between August 11 and 12, covering the impact area. Scientists determine the crater is about 60 feet (18 meters) wide and less than 10 feet (about 3 meters) deep, estimated using the length of the crater’s shadow. One report emphasizes that the event occurred after the upper stage had drifted for more than a year and notes the collision speed at impact.
Across outlets, the differing emphasis is on what the images show and why they matter: one focuses on the crater’s size and how it supports testing impact-prediction tools, while another highlights the “before-and-after” view and the visible dark and bright rays—dark excavated material near the surface and brighter material thrown from deeper layers.
