A South Korean satellite has photographed the Moon’s newly scarred surface after a stray SpaceX rocket stage slammed into it.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Danuri spacecraft passed over the impact zone shortly after the Falcon 9 upper stage unintentionally struck the lunar surface on Wednesday.
During several passes from lunar orbit, Danuri captured images that were released by the space agency yesterday.
The photographs show a visibly darker patch where the rocket gouged out a crater, scattering dust and fractured rock across the surrounding terrain.
(Image: NASA via KARI/KASA)
Nasa expects its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to pass over the site next week and document the crash’s aftermath.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX carried Danuri into space from Cape Canaveral in 2022.
The company also dispatched two private lunar landers to the Moon last year.
The upper stage involved in that mission struck the Moon this week at 8,700km/h after solar activity and gravity put it on an unintended collision course, SpaceX said.
