Astronomers Discover Brand-New Crater on the Moon
Astronomers have discovered a brand new crater on the surface of the moon, providing rare opportunities to look at what happens in the immediate aftermath of a powerful lunar impact. Read on for the details of this new crater, how it was discovered, and what it can tell us about the vast world around us.
Newly Discovered Lunar Crater Named in Honor of Late Apollo-Era Scientist
A study published last week in the journal Science Advances details the discovery of a new crater on the surface of the moon. The crater measures roughly 728 feet across and 141 feet deep, equating to the size of two football fields in length and three school buses deep. While the discovery may seem insignificant to many, its newness means that scientists can now observe what happens when a large space rock hurls itself into the lunar surface.
The giant rock likely slammed into the eastern edge of the moon about two years ago. However, it took another year for scientists to discover the impact. According to the recently published study, the feature is now distinguished as the largest newly-formed crater identified in the solar system since technology was developed to monitor these types of features and events.
The authors of the study noted that “Crater production models indicate that an impact of this magnitude is expected to occur only once every 132 years on the Moon. As such, this event constitutes a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation.”
The scientists named the crater McGetchin to honor Dr. Thomas McGetchin, the late lunar scientist known for his contributions during the Apollo era. Unlike Earth and its protective atmosphere, the moon has no shield to guard against continual strikes by space rocks. This means that craters of this magnitude are quite prolific on the lunar surface.
The discovery is being credited to the work of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Launched in 2009, this workhorse uses several instruments to generate maps that detail the moon's topography, temperature readings, surface composition, and more. The cameras attached to the LRO capture images that help astronomers track and identify new crater impacts and other types of changes to the lunar surface.
According to NASA, approximately 140 new craters of varying sizes appear on the surface of the moon every year. Scientists frequently scan the LRO images to compare them to past maps to try to identify new craters. McGetchin was originally spotted on October 24, 2025, by study coauthor Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist at Intuitive Machines. Wagner was looking at before-and-after LRO images when he made the discovery.
“I just stopped, dropped everything, and started looking into what that spot was,” said Wagner. He went on to say that the crater "was by far the most obvious impact debris pattern I’ve ever seen in one of these images." Scientists then leaned on close-up images from LRO's Narrow-Angle Camera to measure the crater's shape, size, and its impact on the area around its landing spot.
Why Tracking Lunar Surface Changes Is Important
What happens thousands of miles from Earth may seem trivial; however, scientists believe that tracking these lunar surface changes is critical for the future of space exploration. Observing new craters and how asteroids break apart upon impact is important for the future planning of a NASA moon base or other space programs. NASA's Artemis program is already working toward the goal of sending humans back to the moon for exploration purposes. These insights will help experts to shape these future plans.
For experts in the field, the discovery of the McGetchin crater is more than just another notch in LRO's belt. The recency of the event delivers a fresh natural laboratory for scientists to observe and learn about what happens when a massive space object slams into the moon.
The information gleaned from this also helps scientists to plan for the potential of near-Earth asteroids that could come barreling into our atmosphere. Jeff Andrews-Hanna, a professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, said that “If something like that made it through our atmosphere and struck the surface of the Earth, it wouldn’t be catastrophic, but we would certainly take notice." The professor went on to say that “These events serve to remind us of how vulnerable we are, and how important it is to catalog and track near-Earth asteroids that could potentially hit the Earth.”
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