Daily Junction.mobi portal<p>Increasing <a href="https://theconversation.com/13-000-tonnes-of-space-junk-clutters-earth-orbit-heres-how-it-could-be-cleaned-up-283772">awareness of this problem</a> is pushing companies and nations to improve how they dispose of their rockets and satellites once they reach the end of their operational lifetime. There are some regional regulations on the disposal of such material, but it is currently far from universal.</p>
<p>In its statement, SpaceX said: “For higher energy missions like those to a lunar transfer orbit, nearly all performance on the vehicle is devoted to successfully placing the payload in the intended orbit, and a controlled disposal manoeuvre is not always possible.”</p>
<p>The company added: “We actively work to be as responsible as possible with hardware left in space to ensure space safety, including for more complex missions. In this case, solar activity and gravity led the second stage toward the Moon.”</p>
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<p>Nasa’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/">Artemis II mission</a>, which carried four astronauts on a loop around the Moon in April 2026, showed that there is significant public interest in sending humans back to the Moon. </p>
<p>This incident illustrates a significant risk that future lunar missions will need to address, both in terms of keeping astronauts and infrastructure safe from old debris, but also looking towards a future where governments and (increasingly) private companies are more responsible with their equipment once it has completed its mission.</p>
<p>Right now, there are no humans on the Moon so there is no risk to life. On this occasion, there were no landers or other equipment in the projected impact location. </p>
<p>But as more and more missions head to the Moon, increasing numbers of spent rocket parts will end up on potential collision courses with the Moon – if we are planning to build a base and have it crewed long term, the last thing you want is for it to be accidentally damaged by a piece of space junk.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/289267/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
<p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/megan-argo-939212">Megan Argo</a>, Reader in Astrophysics, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-lancashire-1272">University of Lancashire</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-wrigley-2751014">Nick Wrigley</a>, Head of Engineering at Jodrell Bank Observatory, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-manchester-1204">University of Manchester</a></em></span></p>
<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/part-of-a-rocket-crashed-into-the-moon-why-this-could-threaten-future-lunar-bases-289267">original article</a>.</p> </div>