SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage to crash into moon
Technology
Heads up, space fans: a leftover piece of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to crash into the moon on August 5, 2026.
This upper stage was launched in January 2025 with two lunar landers but ended up too far from Earth to burn up like usual, so now it's on a one-way trip to the moon at about 8,700 kph (8694km/h).
Unplanned impact on moon's bright side
The impact will happen somewhere on the bright side of the moon (exact spot still unknown) thanks to solar radiation slowly shifting its path.
While it's not part of any planned mission, the crash will happen.