tech
'Spectral lines' and a giant plume: what science saw when the SpaceX rocket hit the moon
Sodium and lithium gas was detected in a plume thought to span tens of kilometres, created when part of a SpaceX rocket crashed into the lunar surface
TL;DR
- A SpaceX rocket stage impacted the moon at high speed.
- The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope detected spectral lines of sodium and lithium gas in the lunar dust plume.
- The plume measured tens of kilometers and was visible for 5-10 minutes.
- The impact could provide data for seismic experiments and assessing hazards from artificial space debris.
- Nasa hopes to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, making understanding space debris critical.
- The impact occurred near the moon's terminator line.
- The rocket stage weighed four tonnes and was the height of a five-storey building.
- Nasa and South Korea's orbiters plan to image the impact site for wreckage.
- Sodium gas likely originated from lunar soil, while lithium may have come from the rocket stage.
- The crash likely created a crater approximately 20 meters in diameter and 5 meters deep.