![]() ![]() The Falcon 9 upper stage was part of SpaceX’s launch of NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) in 2015. Additional observations in February will help further pin down the impact's time and location. But at this point, an impact on the lunar surface is certain, though the timing may vary by a minute or so as may the exact location (by a few kilometers). Plus, the booster appears to be tumbling. Keep in mind, relatively lightweight objects like empty rocket boosters are more at the whim of the solar wind's push than are solid asteroids. Calculations, based on observations, show the recent orbit of the Falcon-9 rocket booster. ![]() The stage is in a wide-ranging Earth orbit that currently takes it out beyond the orbit of the Moon. Gray then put out an appeal to the amateur astronomy community via the Minor Planet Mailing List (MPML) to observe the errant booster in an effort to pin down its exact orbit. Gray first noticed the upcoming encounter in early 2022: A close flyby that took the booster within 9,600 km of the Moon on January 5th set it up for impact in March. Astronomer Gianluca Masi and the Virtual Telescope Project will, however, feature two viewing sessions of the Falcon 9 booster pre-impact, one on February 7th and another on February 8th. Unfortunately, because the unintentional impact will occur on the lunar farside, it won’t be visible for Earthbound observers. Lunar farside: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University inset: Bill Gray / Project Pluto The Impact The lunar impact is projected to occur on the farside, in or very near Hertzsprung Crater (marked with green "x"). EST (12:26 UT) near the edge of Hertzsprung Crater. Recent observations, combined with calculations made by Bill Gray of Project Pluto have shown that a spent Falcon 9 rocket upper stage will strike the lunar surface on March 4th around 7:26 a.m. The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) launched on a Falcon 9 rocket in early 2015.Īn interesting fragment of modern space exploration will soon strike the farside of the Moon.
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