Lunar Impact Crater Excavator | Falcon 9 Lunar Crash Simulator

Stage: Ready for Impact

Excavation Flow: Stratigraphic Inversion

Impact Kinematics

Impact Velocity:2.60 km/s

Projectile Mass:4,000 kg

Impact Angle (from horiz):84°

Regolith Stratigraphy

Space-Weathered Layer Depth:1.8 m

Subsurface Immature Albedo:0.28

Telemetry & LRO Observations

Final Crater Diameter

18.3 m (60.0 ft)

Apparent Depth

3.8 m

Kinetic Energy

3.24 t TNT

Bright/Dark Ray Contrast

3.11x Albedo

Stratigraphic Inversion: High-velocity excavation pushes shallow weathered dark regolith (OMAT low) outwards first, while deep fresh high-albedo anorthositic rock is ejected at high angles to form bright rays.