Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery on the moon, finding a crater larger than the Roman Colosseum created by a powerful impact that occurred two years ago, initially unnoticed. This crater, measuring 222 meters across and up to 43 meters deep, is the largest known impact crater in the solar system formed in recent times.
Researchers revealed that such a significant event happens approximately once every 132 years, making this find a valuable source of knowledge as NASA plans to establish a lunar base for astronauts. The scientists emphasized the rarity of this event in their studies published in the journal Science Advances.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) by NASA identified the crater on the moon’s near side in May 2024, shortly after its formation by an asteroid or comet fragment. The impact was not detected in real-time by Earth or space telescopes. Detailed images confirming the crater were obtained by the LRO in the following months.
Named after the late Thomas McGetchin, a former director of Houston’s Lunar and Planetary Institute, the crater represents a significant development in lunar studies. Mark Robinson, the chief scientist for the LRO’s cameras at Intuitive Machines, noted that the impact covered over 100 kilometers on the lunar surface, ejecting dust and rocky soil at unexpected angles.
Another study identified a seven-kilometer-wide cold spot surrounding the crater, indicating a disturbance in the moon’s topsoil. Co-author David Paige from the University of California, Los Angeles, compared the impact to gardening, suggesting it churned the regolith, the loose material covering the bedrock.
Robinson highlighted that the LRO’s discoveries show the moon’s top two centimeters of soil are overturned every 80,000 years by ejected materials, faster than previously thought. He also dispelled the notion that the footprints left by Apollo moonwalkers would last forever, stating they would vanish within the mentioned timeframe.
The next phase involves assessing the risk of ejected material from the crater hitting NASA’s future lunar base to enhance structural resilience and minimize potential damage.