Saturn V rocket third stage boosters, Apollo 8 to 12
Five third stage boosters belonging to Saturn V rockets used during the Apollo missions are also lost in space. Formally known as the S-IVB (pronounced “S-four-B”), the third stage boosters sent the crewed command modules on their missions through cislunar space. The S-IVBs used in Apollo missions 8 through 12 are currently adrift in space, but those that followed (Apollo 13 to 17) were deliberately crashed onto the Moon for scientific purposes.
In 2002, astronomers spotted what they believe to be the S-IVB belonging to the Apollo 12 mission, giving it the designation J002E3. According to CNEOS, the object is easily detectable in asteroid surveys and is bright enough to be seen by amateur astronomers. J002E3, like the other S-IVBs, was in a heliocentric orbit, but it was captured by Earth’s gravity in April of 2002—so technically it’s now an artificial moon of Earth.
