Experts expect the crash did occur as predicted, but are still waiting for visual verification.
On March 4, a lonely, spent rocket booster smacked into the surface of the moon at nearly 6,000 mph. Once the dust has settled, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will move into position to get an up-close view of the smoldering crater and hopefully shed some light on the mysterious physics of planetary impacts.
The rocket impact will provide a fortuitous experiment that could reveal a lot about how natural collisions pummel and scour planetary surfaces. A deeper understanding of impact physics will go a long way in helping researchers interpret the barren landscape of the moon and also the effects impacts have on Earth and other planets.
There's really a lot about space to know.
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