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Earlier today, the discarded upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket impacted on the Moon. As part of a coordinated observing campaign, our Very Large Telescope detected spectral lines of sodium and lithium gas in the impact plume lasting for 5-10 minutes after impact. 🔭 🧪 📷 ESO/C. Schmidt et al. 1/4

ESO

@eso.org

5 Aug

This Falcon 9 rocket was launched on 15 Jan 2025 carrying the Blue Ghost & Hakuto-R Moon landers. Its upper stage, as tall as a five-storey building, didn't re-enter Earth after the lunch. Careful analysis of subsequent observations predicted that it would crash today on the Moon 🔭 🧪 📷 B. Gray 2/4

ESO

@eso.org

This prompted astronomers to observe this impact in real time with various telescopes worldwide. The VLT spectra, taken with the UVES instrument, show emission lines of sodium & lithium. The sodium likely originated from the lunar soil, whereas the lithium could come from the rocket itself. 🔭 🧪 3/4

5/8/26, 4:09 pm11 reposts45 likes

ESO

@eso.org

5 Aug

The team will provide more details after a full analysis has been conducted. Read more about this campaign: arxiv.org/abs/2607.14625 🔭 🧪 4/4

arxiv.orgObservational planning for the 2026 August 5 Falcon 9 Upper Stage lunar impactOn 2026 August 5, at approximately 06:35 UT, a spent Falcon 9 upper stage will impact the lunar surface near Einstein Crater. This event will occur on sunlit terrain near the eastern limb as seen from...