European scientists confirm spent Falcon 9 stage hit the moon

European scientists confirmed a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the moon, with the impact unfolding exactly as predicted. The four-ton remnant was a Falcon 9 upper stage launched about 18 months ago. Chile-based European Southern Observatory detected spectral lines with its linked-telescope array. SpaceX attributed the unintended lunar collision course to solar activity and gravity; no impact photo exists yet. NASA plans a future lunar base, making such collision data valuable. Meteorites regularly strike the moon, but rocket-debris impacts are rare. ESA estimates over 46,000 debris pieces, about 17,000 tons, orbit Earth.