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NASA has revealed its first official images of an enormous crater made when a SpaceX rocket smashed into the moon.

Earlier this month, an out–of–control SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage careened into the lunar surface at 5,400 miles per hour (8,690km/h).

Scientists believe that the 9,920lbs (4,500kg), 39ft–long (12m) rocket would have hit with a force equivalent to 15,000 sticks of dynamite, or three tonnes of TNT.

Now a NASA satellite has captured pictures showing the result of the impact – revealing a 60–foot–wide (18m) crater surrounded by streaks of lunar rock thrown up by the rocket's impact.

'Spotted: Falcon 9 impact site,' NASA wrote on X.

'NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured images of a new crater on the moon.

'The crater formed on August 5, 2026, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the lunar surface.'

In the remarkable image, the new crater is clearly visible with a darkened rim and dark streaks emanating from its centre.

This image shows the moon's surface before the rocket crashed into it (left). Here, the new 60–foot–wide crater can be seen, surrounded by streaks of lunar rock (right)

One of Elon Musk's discarded SpaceX rockets crashed into the moon. Pictured: The rocket launching in January 2025, from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida

NASA used its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to capture images of the impact as it passed over the site during orbit earlier this month.

Engineers tilted the spacecraft so its cameras would point toward the crater as the satellite passed 60 miles above the moon, travelling one mile per second.

As well as measuring its width, scientists were able to work out that the crater is less than 10ft (3m) deep.

They were also able to confirm the crater's coordinates – 19.4759°N, 266.7138°E at 511 metres (1,676ft) elevation.

'The images show bright and dark rays stretching out from the crater,' NASA said in a statement.

'The darker streaks are made of surface dust and rocks altered over a long time by solar wind, galactic cosmic rays and micrometeorite impacts.

'This weathered material was excavated by the collision from 1.5 feet into the lunar surface.

'The brighter streaks near the crater rim are made of fresh material excavated from deeper underground.'

The crash occurred near the Einstein crater on the northwestern limb of the moon, which was facing the sun at the time of the collision.

As a result, the initial flare from the crash was not visible from Earth.

Commenting on the new image, which was shared on X, one person joked: 'SpaceX making lunar graffiti', while someone else commented: 'X marks the spot.'

Another wrote: 'Am I the only one to think the new crater on the moon is a really bad thing? We haven't done great things to Earth, now we're smashing into the moon?'

Earlier this month a Korean lunar satellite was able to capture the first images of the crash site, with the blackened crater clearly visible on the lunar surface.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute's (KARI) Danuri spacecraft flew over the impact site at 7.34am BST, shortly after the SpaceX rocket collided.

The orbiter also managed to grab images 30 minutes before the impact, revealing a striking before and after.

Meanwhile, a group of researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain claim they have recorded the only footage of the impact actually taking place.

A Korean lunar satellite captured the first images of the new crater left behind by Elon Musk's abandoned SpaceX rocket that crashed into the moon

The Falcon 9 booster hit just behind the moon's limb, meaning that the actual flash of impact was hidden.

However, astronomers think they managed to catch the rising plume of dust and debris that the force of the impact kicked out into space.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in January last year.

It was carrying two private lunar landers, Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience, into lunar orbit and was not intended to crash into the moon.

The Falcon 9's primary booster is designed to be reusable, safely returning to Earth after pushing the upper stages out into space.

However, the later sections are simply jettisoned and left to drift through space, where they often burn up in Earth's atmosphere after several years.

While it was never intended to hit the moon, a combination of lunar gravity and unexpected solar weather eventually pushed this particular secondary stage into a collision course with our lunar satellite.

This was initially spotted by independent astronomers, who noticed the rocket's dangerous trajectory, before being confirmed by NASA's Centre for Near–Earth Object Studies.

The Daily Mail has contacted SpaceX for comment.