Between Aug. 11 and 12, 2026, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed the crater formed when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon on Aug. 5, revealing the crater's size, depth, and precise coordinates with help from South Korea's Danuri orbiter.

Key Details

• A Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon on Aug. 5, 2026, forming a new crater.
• NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the crater on Aug. 11-12 using its Narrow-Angle Camera, waiting six days for the right viewing geometry.
• The crater measures about 60 feet wide and less than 10 feet deep.
• NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies had predicted the impact site, which South Korea's Danuri orbiter confirmed to within 0.6 miles using its LUTI camera.
• The LRO team updated the crater's coordinates to 19.4759 degrees N, 266.7138 degrees E, 511 meters elevation.

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