Debris weighing four (4) tonnes, the size of a school bus, from a rocket of SpaceX has crashed into the Moon, this is according to tracking data.
The incident has led to the creation of a new crater on the lunar surface and providing scientists a rare look at high-velocity cosmic impacts.
The object, which is the second phase of a Falcon 9 Rocket launched early last year, struck the Moon early Wednesday near the Einstein Crater, at approximately 8,700 kilometres per hour (5,400 miles per hour), according to orbital trajectories mapped by independent astronomers, with confirmation by space-tracking agencies.
The SpaceX Rocket struck the lunar surface with a force approximately three (3) tonnes of trinitrotoluene (TNT).
That type of rocket hardware usually re-enters the atmosphere of Planet Earth to burn up or splash down into remote ocean zones after delivering payloads into orbit.
However, over eighteen (18) months, the force of gravity exerted by the Sun, Moon and Earth slowly altered its flight path, positioning it on an inevitable collision course.
SpaceX said, the flight path leading to the crash was not intentional, but, unpreventable, putting into consideration the vehicle’s remaining fuel reserves.
On Monday, SpaceX director of NASA science and Dragon programmes, Julianna Scheiman, told reporters, “What has happened is essentially a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces have put it on a path toward the moon”.
Bill Gray, Expert in Space tracking, told the Associated Press News Agency, “It doesn’t present any immediate danger, though it does highlight a certain carelessness about how leftover space hardware is disposed of.”
He added, “things are getting crowded up there.”
The crash marks only the second known instance of discarded rocket space debris accidentally crashing into the Moon.
