The upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket launched in January 2025 will crash into the lunar surface on August 5 of this year. According to astronomers' calculations, the collision will occur at hypersonic speed. Ixbt.com reports on this.
The object, which is approximately 13.8 meters long and has a mass of 4 tons, did not burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Moving along an elongated orbit, it has gradually approached the Moon, and its impact on the surface is now inevitable.
Bill Gray, an expert in orbital dynamics, stated that the rocket stage will strike the Moon at a speed of 2.43 kilometers per second. This figure is approximately seven times higher than the speed of sound.
The collision is expected to take place in the area of the Einstein crater on the visible side of the Moon. Due to the lack of an atmosphere on the Moon, the object will reach the surface intact and create a small crater.
Experts emphasize that this situation does not pose a threat to future space missions.
As space debris continues to increase in outer space, such incidents may occur more frequently in the future. To prevent this, there are plans to implement the practice of directing rocket stages into safe orbits around the Sun.
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