A SpaceX rocket stage crashes into the Moon and leaves a crater

Argentina

2 SOURCES

Scientific Windfall Camp · 6 of 12 countries

Buenos Aires views the incident as an unexpected scientific windfall, echoing NASA's assessment of a risk-free impact that holds valuable lessons for future lunar missions.

Australia

4 SOURCES

Orbital Debris Governance Camp · 3 of 12 countries

Canberra is weighing the cost of space congestion: the impact of the Falcon 9 on the Moon has reignited debate over the debris accumulating in orbit and on the lunar surface.

Belgium

2 SOURCES

Scientific Windfall Camp · 6 of 12 countries

Brussels is initially focusing on the Belgian portion of the scientific investigation, between spectroscopy confirmation in Chile and South Korean images of the impact.

Canada

4 SOURCES

Orbital Debris Governance Camp · 3 of 12 countries

Ottawa views the incident as part of a broader structural issue: the increasing pollution of the lunar orbit, whereas Canada's English-language press is sticking to the factual account provided by NASA.

China

incl. 1 state outlet

2 SOURCES

China, Framing Sovereign Capacity · 1 of 12 countries

Beijing is using an American space accident to demonstrate its own orbital surveillance capabilities.

Finland

5 SOURCES

Scientific Windfall Camp · 6 of 12 countries

Helsinki is closely monitoring the lunar impact minute by minute, from the initial alert to the scientific confirmation from the ESO.

France

incl. 1 state outlet

6 SOURCES

Scientific Windfall Camp · 6 of 12 countries

Paris views the impact more as a confirmed scientific experiment backed by a European instrument than as an incident, while the technological fallout primarily benefits the lunar ambitions of NASA.

Mexico

3 SOURCES

Institutional Skepticism · 2 of 12 countries

Mexico City is questioning the official NASA account, which frames the lunar impact as a "safe event" and an accepted method for disposing of material in low Earth orbit.

Romania

2 SOURCES

Scientific Windfall Camp · 6 of 12 countries

Bucharest views the lunar crash of Falcon 9 as an international scientific windfall rather than an incident to be investigated.

Russia

incl. 1 state outlet

2 SOURCES

Institutional Skepticism · 2 of 12 countries

Moscow is scrutinizing the incident with a wealth of technical details and notes in particular that SpaceX had deemed its trajectory "safe according to existing rules" before the impact.

Sweden

2 SOURCES

Scientific Windfall Camp · 6 of 12 countries

Stockholm is gauging the scientific windfall of a space accident, with its own researchers, from Uppsala to the European Southern Observatory, among the first to seek to capitalize on it.

Switzerland

2 SOURCES

Orbital Debris Governance Camp · 3 of 12 countries

Switzerland is simultaneously reviewing two SpaceX files: the growing clutter of the lunar space by rocket debris, and Elon Musk's oversized ambitions for Starlink, which have been met with skepticism from investors.