The Falcon 9 rocket will hit the Moon this summer at seven times the speed of sound

Astronomers say the Falcon 9 advanced rocket launched in early 2025 will hit the Moon later this summer, possibly close to the Moon.

Bill Gray, who writes the software used by Project Pluto to track near-Earth objects, has published a detailed report for the expected launch at 2:44 am ET (06:44 UTC) on August 5. The upper part of the Falcon 9 rocket is 13.8 meters (45 feet) tall and has a 3.7-meter (12 feet) diameter. Since the Moon has no atmosphere, it also affects the moon.

Although the Moon will be visible in the eastern half of the US and Canada, as well as in South America, Gray said he believes the effect will be too weak to be seen by Earth telescopes.

I strongly believe in its origins

Gray said he and other astronauts are very confident that this object is the second part of the Falcon 9 rocket that launched two lunar missions, Firefly’s Blue Ghost and iSpace’s Hakuto-R, on January 15, 2025. After the launch, the two passengers, the payload fairing, and the upper stage were all tracked following their separation. The two made it to the Moon (only Blue Ghost managed to survive), and justice once again entered space.

“The superplane, 2025-010D, continued to orbit Earth, but it was slightly higher and did not reenter,” Gray wrote. “It made a few passes close to the Moon and the Earth, but nothing close enough to make it look like it was going to happen.” Asteroid probes observed them whenever they were not too close to the Sun or Moon to see them.