The abandoned rocket segment — measuring some 40 feet (12 meters) and weighing around 10,000 pounds.
The Falcon 9 upper stage launched Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander and an ispace lunar lander on January 15, 2025. Blue Ghost later completed a successful lunar landing while the ispace mission ended unsuccessfully.
With the moon as the new travel hot spot, scientists said it’s crucial to improve debris monitoring and traffic control before packs of robots and astronauts arrive.
The event also highlights the growing challenge of managing space debris as activity around the moon and in Earth orbit continues to increase. Researchers say observations from the impact could help scientists better understand the risks debris poses to future lunar missions and astronauts.
“Things are getting crowded up there,” Space tracking expert Bill Gray said.