![\"TOPSHOT-US-JAPAN-SPACE-MOON-FIREFLY-ISPACE\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778570351_774_0x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience lunar landers, streaks into orbit after lifting off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 15, 2025. The upper stage could hit the moon on Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo by Gregg Newton \/ AFP) (Photo by GREGG NEWTON\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
A discarded part of a rocket from Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX could crash into the moon early on Aug. 5, potentially creating a new crater, according to a new report<\/a>. The upper stage of a rocket could slam into the moon on Aug. 5, on the western limb of the moon.<\/p>\n The report is authored by Bill Gray at Project Pluto, a software program that tracks near-Earth objects \u2014 including the SpaceX space junk, designated 2025-010D.<\/p>\n The rocket part \u2014 a 45 ft.(13.8 meter) upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket \u2014 was launched into space on Jan. 15, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at Florida\u2019s Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n Where Is 2025-010D?<\/p>\n 2025-010D is currently in an elliptical 26-day orbit around Earth, reaching a distance of 310,000 miles (510,000 km) from Earth. That\u2019s farther than the moon, which is, on average, 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) distant.<\/p>\n Space debris in orbit is on the rise, with about 35,000 objects now tracked by space surveillance networks, according to the European Space Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where Will 2025-010D Crash?<\/p>\n Gray thinks 2025-010D will strike the moon close to Einstein, a 112-123 miles (181-198 kilometers) wide crater on the moon\u2019s far western limb, which is difficult to see from Earth. It will strike it at 1.51 miles (2.43 kilometers) per second, which is 5,400 miles (8,700 kilometers) per hour, at approximately 2:44 a.m. EDT on Aug. 5, 2026. Amateur astronomer Tony Dunn published a simulation video<\/a> of the impact.<\/p>\n Blue Ghost Mission 1’s “shadow selfie” on the lunar surface. <\/p>\n Firefly AerospaceThe \u2018Blue Ghost\u2019 Rocket<\/p>\n The space junk now seemingly headed for a lunar impact comes from the launch of two lunar missions \u2014 the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1<\/a> and the ispace RESILIENCE mission. Firefly Aerospace\u2019s mission \u2014 dubbed \u201cGhost Riders in the Sky\u201d \u2014 successfully touched down at the moon\u2019s Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025, to become the first commercial company to achieve a fully successful first-attempt soft landing. <\/p>\n Blue Ghost operated for one entire period of lunar daylight \u2014 14.5 days \u2014 before it could no longer operate on solar power. It took some fabulous images<\/a>, including those of a total solar eclipse and a lunar sunrise. ispace\u2019s RESILIENCE mission was less successful at delivering its Hakuto-R lander to the lunar surface; it crashed on June 4, 2025.<\/p>\n Space Junk: A Future Threat?<\/p>\n Although there\u2019s no danger from space junk striking the moon, that may not always be the case. NASA\u2019s Artemis program \u2014 which recently completed the Artemis II mission<\/a> \u2014 is designed as a step-by-step return to the moon, ultimately culminating in a permanent moon base<\/a>. Ironically, its ambition to land two astronauts on the moon during its Artemis IV mission depends entirely on progress made by SpaceX and Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin on lunar landers.<\/a><\/p>\n Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.<\/p>\n ForbesSee The Historic \u2018Diamond Ring\u2019 Photos From Moon During Total Solar EclipseBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesNASA\u2019s New Moon Base Plan Explains Why It\u2019s Going Back To The MoonBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesSplashdown! NASA\u2019s Artemis II Returns To Earth After Moon MissionBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesNASA Changes Moon Plan: Landing Now Depends On SpaceX Or Blue OriginBy Jamie Carter<\/a>Forbes97% Of Americans Support NASA\u2019s Artemis \u2014 Despite $90 Billion CostBy Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience lunar landers, streaks into orbit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[210226,6599,18,1647,19,17,210225,133,45992,2731,210227],"class_list":{"0":"post-480475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-2025-010d","9":"tag-earth","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-elon-musk","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-project-pluto","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-space-junk","17":"tag-spacex","18":"tag-spacex-space-junk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116560394691846466","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}