On Wednesday, a piece of a dead rocket will crash into the moon

Here's what it's all about

• On Wednesday, August 5, at approximately 8:34 a.m. Swiss time, the spent upper stage of a SpaceX “Falcon 9” will crash into the Einstein crater on the Moon.
• From Switzerland, it cannot be observed with the naked eye in broad daylight; the only options are to watch it via a livestream or view later footage from NASA and the Korean probe “Danuri.”
• Even among experts, it is unclear whether there will be a flash or a plume of dust at all.

Summary created with

On Wednesday, August 5, at approximately 8:34 a.m. Swiss time, the spent upper stage of a SpaceX "Falcon 9" rocket will impact the Moon. The impact will occur near the Einstein crater on the western edge of the Moon, at a speed of approximately 8,700 kilometers per hour—about seven times the speed of sound. The debris came from the launch of two lunar landers in January 2025 and has been drifting through space unpowered ever since. It is no longer being controlled, nor is it being slowed down.

The trajectory was calculated by U.S. astronomer Bill Gray, who had already predicted the impact using his software “Project Pluto” back in September 2025. It would be only the second documented case in which a rocket component has unintentionally struck the Moon. In 2022, a decommissioned Chinese upper stage left two craters on the far side of the Moon. The current object is as tall as a five-story building, and the impact will release energy equivalent to about three metric tons of TNT. It is expected to leave behind a new crater about 27 meters in diameter—roughly as wide as a tennis court is long.

Univesity of Texas

Why Researchers Take a Closer Look

According to models from the University of Texas, the impact will send up to 12,700 kilograms of lunar dust into the air. This dust cloud is the real reason for the international interest. NASA’s lunar probe “LRO” and the South Korean probe “Danuri” will photograph the site before and after the event; “Danuri” will even come within a few kilometers of the crashing debris about two minutes before impact. For the planned return of humans to the Moon, the event appears to be a welcome dress rehearsal, as airborne dust is considered one of the greatest threats to future bases.

Here's how you can follow the impact

To be honest, it’s not possible to observe this from Switzerland with the naked eye or binoculars. The impact will occur in broad daylight, when the pale moon stands no chance against the daytime sky, and even with a telescope, you’d need darkness and a very steady camera.

Observers in the eastern United States and South America, where it is currently nighttime, have the best chances. For everyone else, the internet is the way to go, since astronomy projects like the “Virtual Telescope Project” typically livestream such events, and the most spectacular images will likely start circulating only afterward, once NASA and South Korea release their before-and-after images of the newly formed crater.