New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- A discarded upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket likely slammed into the Moon early Wednesday (August 5), ending an 18-month journey through space after it was left drifting following a lunar mission.

While the impact poses no danger to Earth or future lunar missions, it has drawn attention from scientists because such collisions are rare and provide an opportunity to study both lunar geology and the growing challenge of space debris.

The object was the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched spacecraft for Firefly Aerospace and ispace toward the Moon on January 15, 2025.

After delivering its payload, the roughly 4-tonne, school bus-sized rocket stage was left in space. Unlike most Falcon 9 upper ...