NASA ORBITER FINDS LARGEST NEW IMPACT CRATER ON THE MOON

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified a new crater on the Moon measuring about 728 feet across and up to 141 feet deep, which researchers describe as the largest freshly formed impact crater yet recorded in the solar system. The crater, named McGetchin after the late Thomas McGetchin, a former director of Houston's Lunar and Planetary Institute, formed on the Moon's eastern edge between 11 April and 22 May 2024 after an asteroid or comet fragment struck the surface. Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist with Intuitive Machines working on LRO camera data, said he spotted an unusually large bright spot circled by a dark halo while carrying out a routine data-quality check. The impact was not detected in real time by telescopes on Earth or in space, and LRO's wide-angle images were not identified until August 2025, with confirmation following earlier this year. Two studies on the discovery were published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Researchers estimate an impact of this scale occurs on the Moon roughly once every century, with one study putting the figure at once every 132 years, describing it as a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation. The crater is three times larger than the previous record-holder found by LRO a decade ago, and the impact disturbed the lunar surface across more than 66 miles. According to Mark Robinson, chief scientist for LRO's cameras and lead author of one study, dust and rocky soil were thrown out at a higher angle than expected. A separate study led by David Paige of the University of California, Los Angeles identified a cold spot roughly 4 miles wide around the crater, which researchers linked to a loosening of the Moon's top soil layer.

Researchers said the discovery offers valuable information as NASA prepares to establish a base for astronauts on the Moon. Paige compared the process to gardening, saying impacts churn lunar sediment and bring material from below the surface to the top. LRO has orbited the Moon for more than 17 years, using seven instruments to map its topography, surface composition, temperature and radiation environment. The findings highlight the continued role of NASA's orbiter data in tracking changes to the lunar surface as human and scientific activity on the Moon expands.