SpaceX: Out-of-control rocket could crash into the Moon

Falcon 9 took off from Florida in 2015 on a million mile journey

An out-of-control SpaceX rocket is on course to hit the Moon, and could do so in a matter of weeks, according to experts.

The Falcon 9 booster was originally launched from Florida in February 2015 as part of an un-crewed mission to send a weather satellite into space.

However, the million-mile journey saw the four tonne rocket run out of fuel and it has been drifting ever since.

Space observers have predicted that the rocket will hit the far side of the Moon, near the equator, on 4 March.

SpaceX is a private space company owned by billionaire Elon Musk, who one day wants to run space tourism trips into orbit and the Moon.

The Falcon 9 booster is now being referred to as 'space junk'. Space junk are the objects that we've left behind in space.

They include things like old satellites, toolkits accidentally dropped by astronauts or in this case, a massive out of control rocket!

The rocket is being tracked by astronomers, including Bill Gray - a data analyst who tracks near-Earth objects.

He said it's the "first unintentional case" of space junk hitting the Moon that he is aware of.

As for whether people will be able to see the collision from Earth, Mr Gray thinks this is unlikely.

"The bulk of the Moon is in the way, and even if it were on the near side, the impact occurs a couple of days after New Moon," he said.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard University, tweeted that the impact is "interesting" but ultimately "not a big deal".

However, the new crater may allow scientists to learn something about the geology of that part of the Moon.