Eastern US, Canada, South America best positioned to view impact
A SpaceX rocket upper stage that launched a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago is on a collision course with the moon. According to space tracking expert Bill Gray, the stage will unintentionally strike the moon Wednesday at about 5,400 mph (8,700 kph) — seven times the speed of sound — near Einstein Crater on the moon’s sunlit western limb.
Gray said the impact will carve out a crater and send up a plume of dust and rubble that scientists and skygazers are eager to observe. The best views are expected across the eastern United States, Canada, and much of South America, where the collision will unfold during the predawn hours.
Gray, who tracks space debris from New Brunswick, Canada, plans to view the aftermath himself. While scientists are not overly concerned about this particular piece of debris, the incident highlights the growing volume of material orbiting Earth, according to Gray.
“Things are getting crowded up there,” Gray said.