On 4 March 2022, a lonely, spent rocket booster will smack into the surface of the Moon at nearly 6,000 mph (9,656 km/h).
The shape of the crater and ejected dust and rocks will hopefully reveal how the rocket was oriented at the moment of impact. A vertical orientation will produce a more circular feature, whereas an asymmetric debris pattern might indicate more of a belly flop.
30 to 100 feet in diameter and about 6 to 10 feet deepThe amount of heat generated from the impact will also be valuable information. If observations can be made quickly enough, there's a possibility theThis could be used to calculate the total amount of heat from the impact. If the orbiter can't get a view fast enough, high-resolution images could be used to estimate the amount of melted material in the crater and debris field.
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