SpaceX Debris Drifting in Space Set to Crash into the Moon... New Crater Expected

Korea's Lunar Orbiter Danuri to Approach and Observe the Impact

Debris from a SpaceX rocket that has been left drifting in space is expected to crash onto the surface of the Moon.

On July 31 (local time), the Associated Press and other foreign media reported this, citing experts. The debris expected to collide this time is from SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 was launched on January 15 last year, carrying two lunar landers. The first stage (lower section) of the rocket returned to Earth shortly after launch, while the second stage (upper section) performed the mission of sending the landers into orbit and was then discarded in space. Experts predict that this debris, which has been drifting in space, will collide with the near side of the Moon at dawn on August 5 U.S. Eastern Time (afternoon of August 5 Korean time).

Bill Gray, an expert in space tracking, explained, "The debris from Falcon 9 is expected to crash into the area around the Einstein Crater on the Moon's western edge at a speed of 8,700 km/h." This impact is expected to generate explosive energy equivalent to 3 tons of TNT, which is estimated to create a new crater 27 meters wide and 5 meters deep, and launch clouds of dust and debris into the air.

The flash generated at the moment of impact is expected to last less than one second, making it difficult to observe directly from Earth. However, the ejected debris may form a band stretching out into space, which could be spotted from Earth using telescopes.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and South Korea's Danuri lunar orbiter (KPLO) plan to collect images of the site before and after the debris impact. Danuri is estimated to pass within a few kilometers of the rocket debris about two minutes before the collision.

This is not the first time rocket debris has accidentally crashed into the Moon. In 2022, debris from a Chinese rocket struck the far side of the Moon, creating two craters.

Experts are not greatly concerned about rocket debris itself as space junk. However, they point out that this collision highlights the growing threat as more and more objects crowd into orbit, and emphasize the need to improve monitoring and traffic control systems for debris before more robots and astronauts arrive on the Moon. Jonathan McDowell, formerly of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, commented, "The impact of this collision will not be problematic," but added, "Debris from rockets should not be left in unpredictable orbits."

This collision will also provide an opportunity to study how material on the lunar surface disperses under a strong impact. Benjamin Fernando, a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the U.S., explained, "The Moon’s gravity is weak and there is no wind to blow dust away," and added, "One of the reasons for our interest in this collision is that it can help us understand how dangerous debris impacts might be to future astronauts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.