Because the rocket stage of a “Falcon 9” from the private space company SpaceX ran out of fuel, it has been floating in space since 2015. Now it is on a collision course with the moon. Researchers are watching their course intently.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 18th. A rocket stage from an earlier «Falcon 9» rocket could soon collide with the moon.
(dpa)
According to calculations by scientists at the American space agency Nasa, part of a SpaceX rocket could collide with the moon in early March. The trajectory of the “Falcon 9” rocket stage is currently being observed, a Nasa spokeswoman told the German Press Agency on Thursday.
The rocket was launched in 2015 from the Cape Canaveral spaceport and brought the Deep Space Climate Observatory, an earth observation satellite, into space. After that, however, the rocket stage didn’t have enough fuel to get back to Earth, which is why it has been in space ever since.
On its current trajectory, the rocket stage will hit the far side of the moon on March 4, NASA said. Several American scientists had previously drawn attention to this. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s private space company, which works a lot with NASA, initially did not respond to a request.
NASA said it would not be possible to observe the impact live from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe. However, it is being investigated whether changes on the moon and a possible crater caused by the impact could then be analyzed. “This unique occurrence represents an exciting research opportunity.” The search for the crater will be a major challenge and could take weeks or even months.