NASA plans on launching the newest and most advanced version of SpaceX Starship, marking the first time we see the upgraded rocket. Former NASA astronaut and President of Leading Edge Enterprises, Charles Camarda, joins FOX Weather to discuss the mission and the newest technology NASA is using during the flight.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is on a collision course with the moon and is expected to crash into it early Wednesday morning.
On Aug. 5, the rocket’s upper stage is expected to impact the moon at a high speed, roughly 5,400 mph, and will leave a crater of around 89 feet wide.
The Falcon 9 rocket is a unique, reusable two-stage rocket designed for reliable, safe transport of people and supplies to Earth orbit and beyond.
Artemis II crew captures the first photo from the far side of the Moon.
(NASA / NASA)
When launching into space, the rocket’s upper stage is jettisoned and left behind.
The SpaceX rocket was part of the launch on Jan. 15, 2025. According to experts, the rocket’s impact could produce visible debris plumes for some sensitive telescopes.
MAN VS MACHINE: WHO WILL WALK ON MARS FIRST?
This was the Full Moon of Halloween Night, October 31, 2020 which was also the smallest, most distant Full Moon of 2020 and was also a Blue Moon, as any Full Moon on the 31st of a month has to be, meaning it was the second Full Moon of the calendar month. Being a Full Moon, the bright rays emanating from recent impacts, particularly from large craters such as Tycho (bottom) and Copernicus (left), are prominent. The Moon was actually full about 12 hours earlier, so there is a slight phase here, with a terminator visible on the Moons eastern limb at right. This is a single exposure with the Astro-Physics 130mm EDF refractor with the 2x AP Barlow lens (for a focal length of 1600mm) and Canon 6D MkII camera at ISO 100, taken to be part of a pair with a perigee Full super Moon in six months. I developed this image for increased contrast and colour saturation to bring out the subtle colour differences in the mare areas. Taken though some high cloud.
(Photo by: Alan Dyer/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Plumes of debris can reach altitudes of nine to 12 miles above the lunar surface in the ejecta curtain, a sheet-like ring of rock and dust thrown outward and upward through the air or space, according to the Universities Space Research Association.
This will also produce large amounts of dust and debris for the central ejecta spike, reaching heights of around 47 to 60 miles above the moon’s surface.
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This impact will create a bright contrast against the darkness of space surrounding the moon, but will only last a few minutes.
2024 Wolf Full Moon
(Virtual Telescope Project / FOX Weather)
The head-on collision is expected to occur near the Einstein Crater at around 2:35 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.
NASA PREPARES FOR CRITICAL SPACEWALK TO MAKE REPAIRS AND UPGRADE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
This provides a unique opportunity to observe a lunar impact in real time and gather data on the effects such events have on the moon, while considering the hazards and concerns astronauts might face on future missions.
