South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter has taken the first images of the crater created when a fragment of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket struck the Moon. The photographs provide direct visual evidence of the impact, adding to telescope observations of material thrown from the surface, and illustrate the challenges of tracking and disposing of space hardware on lunar-bound missions.

The rocket stage launched in January 2025 to deliver lunar landers and remained in an unstable orbit for more than a year before Earth, lunar and solar gravity diverted it into the Moon. Astronomers had predicted the location and timing of the collision; the crater was expected to be dozens of feet across and nearly 3.6 metres deep, though the available images show how small it is against the Moon’s 2,160-mile diameter. SpaceX said controlled ocean re-entry is not always possible for high-energy lunar missions and that it is working with NASA on disposal options.