The Wayward SpaceX rocket is expected to crash on the moon in March | science and technology news

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A portion of an old SpaceX rocket is expected to hit the moon in March, according to experts.

The space company’s Falcon 9 booster has been drifting since February 2015, when it helped put a weather satellite into orbit.

It is now expected to hit the moon on March 4 at 2.58 km/s, according to Bill Gray — a data analyst who tracks near-Earth objects.

He said it was the “first unintended case” of space junk hitting the Moon that he was aware of.

Photo: A Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad in November 2021. Pic: NASA/AP

Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan Doyle confirmed the expected collision.

“For those who ask: Yes, the second stage of the old Falcon 9 in high orbit in 2015 will hit the Moon on March 4th,” he wrote on Twitter.

The moment of impact will not be noticeable as it is expected to hit the far side of the moon.

“Most of the moon is in the way, and even if it’s on the near side, the effect occurs two days after the new moon,” Gray said on his blog.

However, he said there will be a short viewing window of a day or two in early February when it will be “bright, close and moving fast”.

These final observations should allow experts to improve the impact point to about a kilometer, perhaps better, and the new crater may allow scientists to learn something about the geology of that part of the moon.

In addition to large pieces of space junk like the Falcon Booster, NASA says there are about 23,000 pieces of debris larger than a softball orbiting Earth at speeds of up to 17,500 miles per hour.

There are growing fears that they may one day endanger a spacecraft.

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