NASA image shows crater on moon created by SpaceX rocket crash

NASA posted before-and-after images showing a crater dug by a Falcon 9 rocket hitting the Moon's surface on August 5, 2026. The Luna Reconnaissance Orbiter took the shots after the spectacular coda to the Firefly Blue Ghost mission.

To capture imagery of the impact, engineers tilted the spacecraft so its cameras would point toward the crater each time LRO passed about 60 miles above the Moon, traveling 1 mile per second. The orbiter circles the Moon from pole to pole every two hours, while the Moon slowly rotates underneath it. To photograph a specific spot, the spacecraft must wait until that location turns into view, which took six days in this case.

Getting the pointing right was only half the challenge; timing had to be accurate as well. If the camera snapped even 10 seconds too early or too late, the target would drift off-center by 10 miles.

It's not the first time we've bombed the moon.

In 2009, NASA intentionally crashed a rocket stage into a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole to search for water ice. The impact confirmed water ice exists at the location, helping make the region a prime target for future moon bases by the U.S. and China.