However, it is all a coincidence and will result in some chaos. NASA has chosen SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, to build the spacecraft that will transport astronauts to the moon in the future. In the meantime, a 4-ton upper stage of a SpaceX rocket launched seven years ago is expected to collide with the moon on March 4, as reported by amateur astronomers. The impact is anticipated for 7:25 am Eastern time, with some uncertainty in the exact timing and location. Bill Gray, creator of Project Pluto, a collection of astronomical software, stated that the rocket fragment will definitely hit the moon. Gray stated that it is highly likely that the object will collide as predicted, possibly within a few minutes and a few kilometers of the estimated time and location. Throughout the Space Age, various man-made objects have been launched into space with no expectation of return, such as Musk's Tesla Roadster launched by SpaceX in 2018. However, some of these objects do come back into view, as evidenced in 2020 when a mysterious object was discovered to be a part of a rocket launched in 1966 during NASA's Surveyor missions. Gray has been monitoring a specific piece of SpaceX debris that helped launch the Deep Space Climate Observatory in 2015. The observatory, known as DSCOVR, was originally intended for Earth observation under the name Triana, backed by Al Gore. After being stored for years, it was repurposed to provide early warning of solar storms. Today, it captures images of Earth from space and occasionally captures the moon passing in front of the planet. Typically, the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket is safely disposed of in Earth's atmosphere after delivering its payload to orbit. The upper stage of the rocket used all its fuel to send DSCOVR on its way, resulting in it being in a high, elongated orbit around Earth that could potentially lead to a future collision. The motion of the Falcon 9 stage is influenced by the gravitational pull of Earth, the moon, and the sun, as well as pressure from sunlight. While debris in low-Earth orbit is closely monitored for safety reasons, more distant objects like the DSCOVR rocket are often overlooked. Gray claims to be the only person tracking these distant objects. While many spacecraft have crashed on the moon, this seems to be the first instance of something from Earth unintentionally heading towards the moon. On January 5, a rocket stage passed within 6,000 miles of the moon, causing its trajectory to potentially intersect with the moon later on. Gray reached out to amateur astronomers to observe the object as it flew past Earth in January. Peter Birtwhistle, a retired IT professional living near London, was one of the volunteers who responded to the request. The Great Shefford Observatory, equipped with a 16-inch telescope, tracked a rocket stage as it swiftly passed through the sky. Birtwhistle noted the speed of the rocket and made observations to determine its trajectory, predicting an imminent impact. Astronomers will have an opportunity to observe the rocket once more before it moves beyond the moon's orbit. Ultimately, it is expected to collide with the far side of the moon, where it will be hidden from view on Earth. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter by NASA will not be able to witness the impact as it happens, but it will fly over the expected impact area later on and capture images of the newly formed crater. Mark Robinson, a professor at Arizona State University, who is in charge of the Orbiter's camera, predicts that the impact of 4 tons of metal traveling at 5,700 mph will create a crater 10 to 20 meters wide. This will provide scientists with valuable information about what lies beneath the moon's surface, with the advantage of knowing the exact size and time of the impact unlike with meteor strikes. India's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, also in orbit around the moon, may also be able to take pictures of the impact site. Other spacecraft traveling to the moon in the coming year may have an opportunity to observe the impact location, provided they do not unintentionally create additional craters.