Korea’s space agency said that the latest observation marks a major examination of the entire process of a man-made object’s collision with the moon’s surface from lunar orbit.
Korea’s first lunar orbiter, Danuri, successfully filmed the moment when debris from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket slammed into the moon early this week, the country’s space agency said on Thursday.
The upper portion of the rocket collided with the lunar surface near the Einstein Crater at 3:34 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA).
Images provided by KASA show a dark shadow and a radial shape forming on the lunar surface during the moment of impact. Geomorphic changes were also observed near the collision site, the agency added.
KASA explained that the latest observation marks a major examination of the entire process of a man-made object’s collision with the moon’s surface from lunar orbit.
Danuri captured images of before and after the collision, providing scientists with data to analyze changes in the lunar surface caused by the impact.
The observations will also serve as key data in planning NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s probe into the impact site in the near future, KASA said.
Yonhap
