A large SpaceX rocket stage that had been drifting in space for more than a year struck the far side of the moon after losing control. The impact adds to growing concern over human-made debris in space, where there is still no international agreement on penalties or cleanup rules.
The object was the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that launched a lunar lander in January last year. Weighing about 4 tons and stretching 12 meters, it was traveling at about 8,700 kilometers per hour when it hit near the Einstein Crater on the moon’s far side, experts said. They believe the collision likely carved out a crater roughly 30 meters wide.
The incident comes as space junk becomes an increasingly serious issue around Earth and beyond. In low Earth orbit, experts warn of a possible Kessler Syndrome, a chain reaction in which collisions create even more debris. On the moon, the problem is more permanent because there is no atmosphere to burn debris away.
Since the 1960s, more than 200 tons of space junk are believed to have been left on the moon as nations expanded lunar exploration. With renewed competition in lunar development and exploration, the moon is becoming a more crowded and less regulated frontier.
