South Korean orbiter captures crater formed by Falcon 9 debris striking Moon

South Korea’s lunar orbiter Danuri captured images of a crater formed after debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket struck the Moon, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) said Thursday.

In a statement through US social media company X, KASA said Danuri photographed the area before and after the impact.

The images show a newly formed crater at the site where the rocket stage, weighing approximately 4 metric tons and standing as tall as a five-story building, struck the lunar surface.

The stage came from a Falcon 9 rocket used by US-based SpaceX in January 2025 to launch two commercial lunar spacecraft belonging to US and Japanese companies.

After completing its mission, the stage remained in space before striking the Moon at high speed on Aug. 5.

SpaceX said the impact was unintentional.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is expected to pass over the area next week to further assess the effects of the impact.