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10 Aug 2026

Before and after pictures of the Moon after SpaceX debris hit its surface

SpaceX Rocket Piece Crashes into the Moon

Warm-up → Read & Listen → Check Understanding → Language → Use It

WARM UP

Think Ahead: Which detail do you think appears in this story?


a) A leftover rocket piece hitting the Moon.


b) Astronauts building a new house on Mars.


c) A satellite taking photos of the Sun.


Ask:


(1) Have you ever seen the Moon at night?


(2) What do you think happens when something hits the Moon?

VOCABULARY 

rocket (/ˈrɒk.ɪt/) 

noun 


moon (/muːn/) 

noun 


crash (/kræʃ/) 

verb 


picture (/ˈpɪk.tʃə/) 

noun 


space (/speɪs/) 

noun 


surface (/ˈsɜː.fɪs/) 

noun

Meaning: A vehicle that travels into space..

Example: The rocket flew high into the sky.


Meaning: The round object that shines in the night sky.

Example: The moon looks bright tonight.


Meaning: To hit something hard and make a noise or damage.

Example: The toy car might crash into the wall.


Meaning: An image made by a camera.

Example: She took a picture of her cat.


Meaning: The huge area outside Earth where stars and planets are.

Example: Astronauts travel through space.


Meaning: The top or outside layer of something.

Example: The surface of the table is smooth.

A leftover piece of a rocket has hit the Moon. The rocket part belonged to a company called SpaceX. It was in space for a long time. Over time, gravity pulled the piece towards the Moon. On Wednesday, the rocket piece crashed onto the surface of the Moon. It was moving very fast.


A spacecraft from South Korea named Danuri took pictures before and after the hit. The new pictures show a small change on the ground. The crash made a small mark and threw dust into the air. Scientists call this dust ejecta.


Nobody on Earth was in danger. The Moon is about 384,000 kilometres away from us. However, scientists are very interested. They can study the new pictures to see what happens when objects hit the Moon. The crash also reminds people that there is a lot of space junk left floating near Earth. In the future, scientists want to stop leaving old rocket parts in space.

Listen
00:00 / 01:03

KASA/Reuters

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What crashed onto the Moon? 


2. Which country owns the Danuri spacecraft? 


3. Were people on Earth in danger from this crash? 


4. Why do you think old rocket parts stay in space? 


5. Would you like to travel to the Moon one day? Why or why not?

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FILL IN THE GAPS
FILL THE GAPS

Section 1: Fill in the Gaps


Word Bank: crashed, pictures, rocket, surface


A leftover piece of a _______(1) has hit the Moon. The rocket part belonged to a company called SpaceX. It was in space for a long time. Over time, gravity pulled the piece towards the Moon. On Wednesday, the rocket piece _______(2) onto the _______(3) of the Moon. It was moving very fast.


A spacecraft from South Korea named Danuri took _______(4) before and after the hit. The new pictures show a small change on the ground. The crash made a small mark and threw dust into the air. Scientists call this dust ejecta.


Nobody on Earth was in danger. The Moon is about 384,000 kilometres away from us. However, scientists are very interested. They can study the new pictures to see what happens when objects hit the Moon. The crash also reminds people that there is a lot of space junk left floating near Earth. In the future, scientists want to stop leaving old rocket parts in space.



Section 2: Main Idea


Which sentence tells the main idea of the story?


a) A rocket piece hit the Moon and a spacecraft took pictures.


b) South Korea built a new rocket to fly to the Sun.


c) Astronauts visited the Moon to clean up trash.

UNDERSTANDING
Section 3: True and False


1. The rocket piece hit the Moon on Wednesday. T/F


2. The crash caused great danger for people on Earth. T/F


3. The Danuri orbiter is from South Korea. T/F



Section 4: Put Events in Order


Put the events in order from 1 to 3:


A. South Korea's Danuri spacecraft took pictures of the crash site.


B. SpaceX launched a rocket carrying lunar landers into space.


C. Gravity pulled the leftover rocket part onto a path towards the Moon.

LANGUAGE
Section 5: Vocab Match 


1. rocket 


2. moon 


3. crash 


4. picture 


5. surface

 


a) The top or outside layer of something 


b) A vehicle that travels into space 


c) An image made by a camera 


d) The round object in the night sky 


e) To hit something hard and cause damage

USE IT
Section 6: Discussion Builder

1. The SpaceX rocket piece was floating in space for a long _______ before hitting the Moon.


a) time


b) house


c) shoe


2. South Korea sent a spacecraft called Danuri to take _______ of the lunar landscape.


a) pictures


b) meals


c) songs



Section 7: Sentence Unscramble


Unscramble the sentence:


1. A) rocket piece / B) A leftover / C) onto the / D) crashed / E) Moon's surface


2. A) took photos / B) The spacecraft / C) of the / D) new mark / E) on the Moon

ANSWER KEY

Warm Up 

Answer: a) A leftover rocket piece hitting the Moon.


Section 1: Fill in the Gaps

  1. rocket

  2. crashed

  3. surface

  4. pictures

Section 2: Main Idea

Answer: a


Section 3: True and False

  1. True

  2. False

  3. True

Section 4: Put Events in Order

  1. B

  2. C

  3. A

Section 5: Vocab Match

  1. b

  2. d

  3. e

  4. c

  5. a

Section 6: Discussion Builder

  1. a

  2. a

Section 7: Sentence Unscramble

  1. B - A - D - C - E (A leftover rocket piece crashed onto the Moon's surface.)

  2. B - A - C - D - E (The spacecraft took photos of the new mark on the Moon.)

Section 8: Discussion Questions

Student's own answers.

Thank you for your feedback!

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