A telescope in Chile recorded evidence of SpaceX rocket fragments colliding with the surface of the Moon.
The collision was not a deliberate action, did not pose any danger to Earth and is believed to have created a new impact crater on the Moon. Space agencies, including NASA, still hope to record images of this area soon.
Scientists previously predicted that the upper layer of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket would hit the surface of the Moon at around 6:35 AM GMT on August 5th (ie 1:35 PM on August 5th Hanoi time).
The Southern European Observatory (ESO) informed on social media that the missile debris collision occurred as predicted, based on observations by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in Chile.
According to ESO, the VLT telescope has detected spectral lines, which are considered "chemical fingerprints", showing the presence of sodium and lithium gas in the column of dust and gas rising after impact, lasting about 5-10 minutes.
According to ESO, sodium is likely to originate from the rocks on the surface of the Moon, while lithium may have originated from rocket fragments.
The research team will announce more results after completing the detailed analysis process.
Observers previously predicted that the collision of the SpaceX rocket fragment with the Moon's surface at a speed of about 8,690 km/h was inevitable.
I can affirm according to Isaac Newton's laws that rocket fragments will definitely hit the Moon, there is no way to escape that orbit" - astrophysicist and space analyst Jonathan McDowell shared with AFP.
NASA plans to use the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) probe, while South Korea will use the Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter to photograph the area where the SpaceX rocket crashed into the surface of the Moon. However, probes may take several days to collect data.
Sharing a post from ESO, scientist Benjamin Fernando of the National Laboratory of Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA confirmed to AFP: "I can confirm that the collision occurred.
Mr. Fernando is the main author of a study on this event. According to the group's estimate, the rocket stage weighed about 4,000kg at impact, with the assumption that all fuel had been used up.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was launched in January 2025, carrying 2 lunar landing ships. After completing the mission, the first booster stage returns to Earth, while the upper stage continues to fly in space to bring the landing ships to the desired orbit.
In this type of missions, SpaceX often performs operations to ensure the second rocket stage is in a safe state according to current regulations.
Ms. Julianna Scheiman - Director of NASA and Dragon Science Programs at SpaceX - said that the company has fully implemented this process. However, the combination of solar activity and gravity caused the rocket stage to deviate from orbit and eventually head towards the Moon.
The Falcon 9 rocket stage is just one of tens of thousands of space debris currently existing around Earth.
The Moon often records impacts of meteorites and natural objects in the universe, but impacts caused by artificial objects are still quite rare.
