The Moon has endured countless blows over millions of years.
asserted
Moon → endure → years
Asteroids and meteors have given the satellite its signature pockmarked surface and network of craters.
asserted
Asteroids → give → craters
More recently, it has also experienced impacts from the plucky little probes and landers that Earthbound space agencies have sent hurtling its way.
asserted
agencies → experience → way
Now on Wednesday, scientists expect the Moon will experience yet another collision, this time from a drifting SpaceX rocket that has been travelling at around 2.43 kilometres per second, or about 5,400mph.
asserted
that → expect → second
The upper stage (section) of one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets will "impact" the Moon on 5 August, according to Nasa's Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).
uncertain
section → impact → Studies
The US space agency reached the conclusion after independent astronomers, using public data, noted that a portion of the rocket from a January 2025 launch was on an accidental collision course with the Moon.
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portion → reach → Moon
"There is no danger to Earth," said spokesperson Jimi Russell.
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Russell → be → Earth
"Nasa will continue to track the booster for training purposes, as well as later observe the impact site for scientific purposes."
SpaceX launched this specific Falcon 9 rocket as part of a US and Japanese mission to carry a pair of lunar landers and scientific equipment to the Moon last year.
asserted
SpaceX → continue → Moon
Part of the Falcon 9 is reusable and designed to return back to Earth for its next mission.
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Part → design → mission
But parts of the rocket are shed in space and remain there, stuck in orbit unless they eventually collide with another celestial body.
asserted
they → shed → body
The SpaceX object will land near the Einstein crater, which is visible from the Earth and will be illuminated by sunlight, according to astronomer Bill Gray.
uncertain
which → land → Gray
He predicts it will create a crater more than 17m (56ft) in diameter.
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it → predict → diameter
The impending collision - predicted to happen at about 02:35 EDT (06:35 GMT) on Wednesday - is expected to captivate astronomers, both amateur and professional.
"It's something really huge smashing into the Moon.
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It → impend → Moon
It's not remotely dangerous, we can just watch the show," says Dr Matt Bothwell, public astronomer at the University of Cambridge.
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Bothwell → watch → Cambridge
"It's going to impact and it's going to send up a huge plume of dust, maybe 50km into the air or more, and that's going to spread sideways over time," Bothwell said.
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Bothwell → go → time
Given the Moon's lack of atmosphere and far weaker gravitational pull, the moment of impact will be "more impressive than any [similar] explosion on Earth", Bothwell said.
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Bothwell → give → Earth
Nothing will slow the object down, like the atmosphere would do here on Earth - and nothing will prevent the estimated million kilograms in debris from rocketing up into space.
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nothing → slow → space
While the impact will probably not be visible from Earth with the naked eye, people with access to a sophisticated telescope may be able to see a flash radiating off the Moon's surface, Bothwell said.
uncertain
Bothwell → see → surface
More significant would be the educative potential of the impact, Bothwell noted.
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Bothwell → note → impact
He said this moment would present a unique opportunity to study what happens when an object hits the Moon.
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object → say → Moon
Scientists are therefore gearing up to watch the event closely.
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Scientists → gear → event
Big telescopes in the Americas, plus Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea's Danuri probe, will track the flash, plume and new crater, and a citizen‑science project is signing up keen amateurs to film the impact too.
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project → track → impact
By catching the dust plume in action, astronomers hope to turn this accidental crash into a useful experiment.
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astronomers → catch → experiment
Watching how much material gets thrown up, how high it goes and how it falls back should sharpen their models of lunar impacts, and even give clues about what lies just beneath the surface at the impact site, where fresh subsurface material will be exposed for the first time.
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material → watch → time
Bothwell, the astronomer, also said the collision would provide a cautionary tale about the issue of ever-accumulating, human-made space clutter.
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collision → say → clutter
"I think more people should be more worried about space debris," Bothwell said.
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Bothwell → think → debris
"Every single year we put more stuff in orbit.
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we → put → orbit
Sometimes the satellites just collide, and they shatter into more pieces.
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they → collide → pieces
I think there's a worry about a runaway cascade, if we put so much stuff in orbit.
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we → think → orbit
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there are around 54,000 objects floating in space that measure larger than 10cm.
uncertain
that → accord → cm
In total, humans have launched about 17,000 tonnes of objects into space since the Space Age began in 1957.
asserted
Age → launch → 1957
The last dead rocket to impact the Moon was in 2022, when the Chinese Long March 3C upper stage from the 2014 Chang'e 5‑T1 mission hit the far side of the Moon - which faces away from Earth.
asserted
which → impact → Earth
Decades earlier, Nasa launched objects into the Moon on purpose, in order to collect data for the Apollo missions.
asserted
Nasa → launch → missions
The Aporia
