THE MOON MAY HAVE A NEW CRATER—THANKS TO A SPACEX ROCKET

OUTER SPACE, MILKY WAY (TUC) — Y'all, you'd really think that after spending billions of dollars exploring outer space, we would've figured out a way to stop leaving our junk floating around up there. But apparently, that's one problem we still haven't quite mastered. Then again, we still can't get people to return their shopping carts, so maybe we shouldn't be all that surprised that we're leaving rocket parts floating around in space too.

Usually, these abandoned rocket stages are guided back toward Earth, where they end up burning in the atmosphere. But this one reportedly didn't have enough fuel left to make the trip back home. So instead, it spent about 18 months drifting around space, kind of like a Walmart shopping cart in a windy parking lot, before eventually crashing into the moon.

And before anyone starts preparing for the end of the world, y'all can relax. NASA says that the impact poses no danger to Earth, and the moon isn't about to fall apart because of one rogue rocket. And believe it or not, this isn't even the first time it's happened. Back in 2022, a Chinese rocket booster also slammed into the far side of the moon, leaving behind a pair of craters.

That all being said, this wasn't exactly a tiny piece of space junk. According to the BBC, the abandoned rocket stage was approximately the size of a five-story building and slammed into the lunar surface at around 5,400 miles per hour.

When something that big hits the moon at that kind of speed, it's more than likely going to leave a mark. Literally. Scientists believe the impact created a brand-new crater, but it could take days or even weeks before orbiting spacecraft are able to capture images of it.

But overall the good news is that at least nobody has to file an insurance claim over this one. We'll keep y'all updated if scientists release photos of the new crater or learn anything interesting from the impact.