Science
The space industry treats the sky as a place to dump what it no longer wants. We must develop a new model of accountability
This story summarizes reporting from The Guardian. Read the original for full context. Wire items stay in our news sitemap for seven days. Editorial policy.
Read full story on The Guardian →
Global — Moriba Jah
The space industry treats the sky as a place to dump what it no longer wants. We must develop a new model of accountability
On 5 August, a piece of a derelict SpaceX rocket traveling at 5,400 miles an hour met with the moon and punched a fresh hole into it near Einstein Crater . Astronomers were thrilled. The European Southern Observatory caught sodium and lithium flaring in the debris plume and called it a bonus. The media called it a light show. Nobody was physically hurt, so nobody is responsible, and within a week the story was gone.
I have spent 20 years tracking the junk humanity leaves behind in space for a living, and I want to tell you plainly what that crater actually is: a receipt. It’s what you get when an entire industry treats the sky, and now the moon, as a place to dump what it no longer wants, and calls the dumping “normal operations” or “space exploration”.
On 5 August, a piece of a derelict SpaceX rocket traveling at 5,400 miles an hour met with the moon and punched a fresh hole into it near Einstein Crater . Astronomers were thrilled. The European Southern Observatory caught sodium and lithium flaring in the debris plume and called it a bonus. The media called it a light show. Nobody was physically hurt, so nobody is responsible, and within a week the story was gone.
This report is published with credit to The Guardian. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on The Guardian →
Source: The Guardian · Moriba Jah. Published 31 Aug 2026, 10:00 am.
Most relevant
BBC Verify fact checks President Trump's funding claims about Nasa.
Read on BBC News →
