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Posts Tagged ‘littering’

In case you’ve been wondering what happened to that stray SpaceX rocket part heading for the moon?  

New photos show site where SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed into moon

And if you, like my friend Elaine Midcoh (great story, recommended!), are interested in the legal status of lunar-based events, this article has some preliminary thoughts.

A rocket crashed into the moon. It was harmless, but the next one might not be. – SpaceNews

Despite a lack of momentum toward a new legal framework, there are substantial mechanisms that can be taken now to mitigate harm from cislunar activity.

Best to prepare now, I think, while the regolith is still clear.

“If you believe you can accomplish everything by “cramming” at the eleventh hour, by all means, don’t lift a finger now. But you may think twice about beginning to build your ark once it has already started raining” [rocket parts]. — Max Brooks (with a minor addition)

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Early this morning, part of a SpaceX rocket was expected to hit the moon. Yes, our Moon! The bad news is that this is a pretty significant bit of littering. The good news is that the strike and subsequent impact crater were at least expected to provide some new observations for lunar science.

Sadly, despite a great deal of professional and amateur peering into the heavens early this morning, no one seems to have spotted the actual event. Yet.

SpaceX rocket thought to have crashed into the moon in unintentional collision

US and South Korean lunar satellites will be positioned to photograph the site after impact but it may take days to receive that information.

With any luck we’ll know more soon. If you have any information leading to the discovery of this rocket part and its impact crater, inquiring minds want to know!

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