A single high-speed collision in orbit does not stay a single event. When two large satellites smash together, they do not simply stop; they shatter into thousands of fragments, and each fragment becomes a new projectile racing around the planet fast enough to wreck the next spacecraft it strikes.

Cislunar space has become the focal point of considerable interest and strategic planning because of the many proposed missions to send crews to the moon in the next decade. These include NASA's Artemis program,

After a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage was believed to have struck the moon on Wednesday after drifting in space for nearly a year, US media AP reported Thursday, citing scientists, this unexpected lunar impact has drawn attention to both scientific opportunities and the growing challenge of managing space debris.

The unintended event also creates an opportunity for scientists and skywatchers to witness lunar impact dynamics in real time, although the debris will hit a sunlit portion of the moon from the perspective of Earth,

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Three Chinese astronauts have been temporarily stranded in space after the vehicle they were meant to travel aboard back to Earth was hit by space debris. Just how much damage the ...

Every week, a tonne of space debris falls to Earth as more rockets and satellites go into orbit. Who pays for the damage?