The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster has been in orbit since January 2025, when it launched from Florida.
The same Falcon 9 booster is scheduled to make its 18th flight on 10 August. SpaceX says the mission will launch 29 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.
During its January 2025 launch from Florida, the rocket carried two lunar landers into space.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage was fired with enough force to move both landers beyond Earth’s orbit and place them on a trajectory towards the Moon.
After completing its mission, the spent rocket stage was left in a long, looping orbit that carried it towards the Moon before returning it towards Earth.
Over the following 18 months, the combined gravitational pull of Earth, the Moon and the Sun, together with pressure from sunlight, gradually nudged the rocket stage onto a new path.
Astronomers tracking the rocket debris eventually determined that these small forces had placed it on a collision course with the Moon, with the object gaining speed each day.
The Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the Moon on Wednesday in daylight across much of the world. However, the resulting flash was far too faint to be seen, even with a telescope.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk