Video of an object smashing into the moon and creating a plume of dust authentically shows the Aug. 5, 2026, crash of the upper stage of a SpaceX rocket.
In August 2026, part of a SpaceX rocket orbiting the moon since January 2025 crashed into the lunar surface, as previously predicted by scientists. Soon after the crashed happened, a video began spreading across social media, especially X, allegedly showing the crash.
For example, one X post (archived) shared the video alongside a caption reading, “NEW: A SpaceX rocket has crashed into the Moon, leaving a 100 foot crater.”
(@valuetainment via X)
The video was the focus of multiple other (archived) X posts (archived) viewed widely across the platform. Snopes readers searched the site and sent emails about the crash.
While the SpaceX rocket legitimately crashed into the moon, the video was not released by scientists and is likely AI-generated. Therefore, we’ve rated the video as fake.
Using Google Lens to capture a frame of the video for a reverse image search, the first version of the video that appeared online appeared to be a more zoomed-out video (archived) posted in April 2026, several months before the crash, by the Moon Watchers Club Facebook page.
The Moon Watchers Club’s video is washed in a bluer hue than the recent versions of the video, but the location of the crash and appearance of the plume are identical to what is seen in the video billed as the SpaceX crash.
The page’s bio (archived) says “Inspired by real events” and many of its videos appear to be AI-generated clips of “mysterious objects” crashing into or appearing on the moon’s surface, usually washed in the same blue hue. We reached out to the page by Facebook Messenger to confirm whether the video in question was AI-generated and will update this story if we receive an answer.
The video was first shared as apparent footage of the Aug. 5 SpaceX crash on TikTok (archived); the upload’s timestamp says it was posted less than 15 minutes after the expected time of the crash. Similarly to the Facebook page, that TikTok account (archived) primarily posts AI-generated videos.
Many of the popular X posts sharing the video noted its apparent AI origins. One post was followed by a reply (archived) saying it was AI-generated to “provide visual context.” Another post included X’s “Made with AI” label
The European Southern Observatory announced (archived) that its Very Large Telescope detected chemical fingerprints of sodium and lithium around the time of impact, confirming a plume caused by the impact that lasted five to 10 minutes.
While NASA announced beforehand it would “attempt to observe” the impact using ground-based telescopes, it noted that “weather and lighting conditions may make viewing difficult.” As of Aug. 6, 2026, NASA had not released any further updates.
Snopes reached out to NASA by email to ask whether it or any other partner or space agency was able to record video of the impact. We’ll update this story if we receive a reply.
For further reading, Snopes has previously fact-checked AI-generated imagery involving the moon, such as several falsely presented as images and footage the Artemis II astronauts captured on their fly-by of the moon’s far side.
