A NASA spacecraft in orbit around the moon captured dramatic images of the impact crater left when a SpaceX rocket smashed into the lunar surface this month.
\n\nThe defunct upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket crashed uncontrolled into the moon on Aug. 5 at an estimated 5,400 mph.
\n\nThe roughly 10,800-pound booster had launched two landers to the moon in January 2025, then remained adrift in orbit until the impact.
\n\nNASA on Tuesday released new images of the crash site taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Aug. 11 and 12. Before-and-after views reveal a bright divot in the moon’s already-pockmarked terrain.
\n\nAlthough there were no live views of the Aug. 5 impact, researchers were able to track the rocket’s trajectory and pinpoint the expected site of the new crater along the western edge of the moon’s sunlit side.
\n\nNASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter cannot easily pick a precise spot to photograph because it circles the moon from pole to pole every two hours, while the moon rotates on its axis. That means the spacecraft must wait for its orbit to line up with a specific location as it rotates into view.
\n\nNASA said it took six days for the…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business