South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter has released what are described as the first before-and-after images of the crater created when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon on 5 August. The incident highlights the growing issue of human-made space debris, although NASA says such impacts can also offer useful scientific evidence about lunar geology and impact debris.

NASA estimates the impactor, which had been in orbit since January 2025 after deploying two lunar landers, created a crater about 60 feet wide and 12 feet deep after hitting the surface at roughly 5,400mph. SpaceX said a controlled disposal manoeuvre was not possible because the mission required most of the rocket’s performance to reach lunar transfer orbit; the collision poses no danger to Earth.