A rocket stage from SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, has slammed into the Moon at nearly 5,400 miles per hour, while astronomers in Chile captured remarkable evidence of the impact.

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope observed the collision on August 5, detecting colorful sodium and lithium emission lines created by dust clouds thrown up from the lunar surface.

Scientists also recorded the cloud’s chemical fingerprints, which remained visible for around five to ten minutes. The dust plume stretched across dozens of kilometers.

Researchers say the event will provide valuable data for future lunar missions and help scientists understand the effects of human-made space debris striking the Moon.

The impact occurred near the boundary between the Moon’s sunlit and dark regions. Although the dust briefly glowed in sunlight, it was nearly impossible to see from Earth with the naked eye.

No spacecraft orbiting the Moon was in position to witness the impact directly. However, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s lunar orbiter are expected to image the crash site in the coming days to determine the size of the crater and assess the damage.

The impacted rocket stage, roughly the height of a five-story building and weighing about four tons, was launched in January 2025 as part of a Falcon 9 mission carrying two lunar landers before eventually colliding with the Moon.