Space mystery: Scientists believe old rocket hardware hit the moon, but there's no proof

Scientists believe a roughly four-ton discarded rocket has slammed into the moon while travelling at 9,300 kilometres per hour. However, there is no proof yet of the impact.

Astronomers say the space junk, which had been hurtling through space for years, hit the moon's far side, meaning it could take months to find.

According to orbital calculations on speed and trajectory using Earth-based telescopes, the old rocket crashed into the moon in a large, existing crater on Friday at 7:25 a.m. EST. In part because it hit the far side of the moon, the strike wasn't directly observed by astronomers.

Scientists say the rocket is expect to have created a crater within the existing crater approximately 10 to 20 metres across, roughly the size of a basketball court.

To know exactly where the rocket hit, astronomers will need satellite images, but NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India’s Chandrayaan-2, which both orbit the moon, were not in a position to observe the impact as it happened. Both probes are only able to observe any region on the Moon once a month.