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Recording of a so-called super moon in April 2020
Photo: MARTIN BERNETTI/ AFP
According to calculations by scientists at the US space agency Nasa, part of a SpaceX rocket could collide with the moon in early March.
The trajectory of the "Falcon 9" rocket stage is currently being observed, a NASA spokeswoman said on Thursday.
The rocket was launched in 2015 from the Cape Canaveral spaceport and brought the Deep Space Climate Observatory, an earth observation satellite, into space.
After that, however, the rocket stage didn't have enough fuel to get back to Earth.
That's why she's been in space ever since.
On its current trajectory, the rocket stage will hit the far side of the moon on March 4, according to NASA.
Several US scientists had previously drawn attention to this.
SpaceX, Elon Musk's private space company, which works a lot with NASA, initially did not respond to a request.
The impact will not be observed live by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe, NASA said.
However, it is being investigated whether changes on the moon and a possible crater caused by the impact could then be analyzed.
"This unique occurrence represents an exciting research opportunity."
The search for the crater will be a major challenge and could take weeks or even months.
aar/dpa
