SEOUL: South Korea’s Danuri orbiter photographed the SpaceX moon crash crater after a Falcon 9 stage struck on August 5. The Korea Aerospace Administration announced the images on Thursday.
KASA placed the impact near Einstein Crater. Danuri began observing about 30 minutes earlier. It completed eight imaging sessions by 7 am Thursday.
KASA said the pictures showed terrain changes and traces of ejecta spreading from the site. One image showed a dark mark and a radial pattern after the collision.
The four-tonne upper stage hit the moon at an estimated 5,400mph, Space.com reported. NASA had forecast a crater about 60 feet wide and 12 feet deep.
A telescope in Chile also detected sodium and lithium in the plume, the Associated Press reported. Boston University astronomer Carl Schmidt said his team was certain the signal came from the crash.
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The stage launched January 15, 2025, carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience landers.
Blue Ghost later landed, while Resilience crashed during its landing attempt. Solar activity and gravity later pushed the stage toward the moon, according to NASA. NASA said the collision posed no danger to Earth.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will conduct follow-up observations and use Danuri data to target the site. A July preprint outlined research into ejecta, impact models and debris risks.
