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NASA Finds Record-Breaking New Crater Larger Than Colosseum on Moon
(MENAFN) NASA has identified a massive new crater on the Moon spanning 222 meters (728 feet) — wider than Rome's Colosseum and the largest fresh impact crater ever documented forming anywhere in the Solar System, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
The crater formed when a fragment of an asteroid or comet, roughly equivalent in size to a three- to six-story building, struck the lunar surface sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024. The impact struck the Moon's near side but went completely undetected by telescopes on Earth or in space at the time it happened.
The discovery ultimately came from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been surveying the Moon since 2009. Automated analysis comparing the spacecraft's wide-angle imagery flagged the new crater in August 2025, and follow-up high-resolution images then confirmed the find.
The crater has been named after lunar scientist Thomas McGetchin and measures roughly three times the width of the previous record-holder detected by LRO. Researchers estimate an impact of this scale occurs only once every 132 years on average, underscoring just how rare the event was.
The collision left a dramatic mark on the surrounding terrain. Scientists found that debris and dust were flung farther and at steeper angles than many existing models had predicted, with disturbances extending beyond 1,000 crater radii from the impact site.
A separate study identified a 6.4-kilometer-wide (4-mile-wide) zone around the crater showing altered thermal characteristics, indicating the impact disturbed and loosened the Moon's upper soil layer, or regolith, according to CBS News.
Researchers say the find offers a rare chance to refine scientific models of lunar impacts and how the Moon's surface evolves over time — insights that could carry real-world implications for future astronauts.
NASA intends to examine how far material thrown up by such impacts can travel, research that could inform how engineers design and shield future lunar habitats.
The findings also indicate the Moon's surface transforms faster than scientists previously believed, raising the possibility that the historic footprints left behind by Apollo astronauts could eventually be buried or worn away by the ongoing natural "gardening" process of lunar soil.
The crater formed when a fragment of an asteroid or comet, roughly equivalent in size to a three- to six-story building, struck the lunar surface sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024. The impact struck the Moon's near side but went completely undetected by telescopes on Earth or in space at the time it happened.
The discovery ultimately came from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been surveying the Moon since 2009. Automated analysis comparing the spacecraft's wide-angle imagery flagged the new crater in August 2025, and follow-up high-resolution images then confirmed the find.
The crater has been named after lunar scientist Thomas McGetchin and measures roughly three times the width of the previous record-holder detected by LRO. Researchers estimate an impact of this scale occurs only once every 132 years on average, underscoring just how rare the event was.
The collision left a dramatic mark on the surrounding terrain. Scientists found that debris and dust were flung farther and at steeper angles than many existing models had predicted, with disturbances extending beyond 1,000 crater radii from the impact site.
A separate study identified a 6.4-kilometer-wide (4-mile-wide) zone around the crater showing altered thermal characteristics, indicating the impact disturbed and loosened the Moon's upper soil layer, or regolith, according to CBS News.
Researchers say the find offers a rare chance to refine scientific models of lunar impacts and how the Moon's surface evolves over time — insights that could carry real-world implications for future astronauts.
NASA intends to examine how far material thrown up by such impacts can travel, research that could inform how engineers design and shield future lunar habitats.
The findings also indicate the Moon's surface transforms faster than scientists previously believed, raising the possibility that the historic footprints left behind by Apollo astronauts could eventually be buried or worn away by the ongoing natural "gardening" process of lunar soil.
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