A South Korean lunar orbiter got the shot that virtually every telescope and spacecraft attempted to snap on Wednesday when a wayward SpaceX rocket accidentally smashed into the moon.
The Danuri lunar orbiter recorded the site before and after the collision. It started watching the zone about 30 minutes before the crash, then adjusted its orbit to pass over the site several times, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, or KARI. Officials said the Falcon 9 rocket made moonfall at 2:34 a.m. ET Aug. 5. The spacecraft completed eight photoshoots.
“Through this observation, changes in the terrain around the impact site and traces of ejecta spread were confirmed,” the space agency said in a translated X post, referring to the debris thrown from the high-speed impact.
The observations give researchers an unusual chance to look at changes caused by the collision. The new images will be combined with follow-up observations from NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is expected to photograph the new crater from orbit, to support international research into how impacts reshape the moon.
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