NASA scientists using orbital data have discovered the largest newly formed impact crater in the solar system on the moon. The 222-meter-wide crater, named McGetchin Crater after a former Lunar Science Institute director, was created by a comet or asteroid impact between April and May 2024.
The lunar surface preserves a long history of cosmic collisions, but spotting a fresh scar of this magnitude remains an extraordinary rarity. Every month for the past 17 years, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has scanned the lunar landscape, amassing massive archives that reveal how the terrain changes over time.
While reviewing orbital mapping data, Robert Wagner, an image processing specialist at the private space company Intuitive Machines, noticed something striking along the eastern edge of the moon. By comparing photographs taken in May 2024 with images from the preceding month, he identified a brand-new crater.
Tracking the Timeline of the McGetchin Crater Impact
Further analysis by research teams pinpointed the exact window of the event. The destructive impact occurred sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024.
Researchers calculate that the colliding object was a comet or asteroid roughly the size of a three-to-six-story building. The ensuing explosion excavated an area spanning about two football fields. The resulting pit measures 222 meters (728 feet) across and plunges 43 meters (141 feet) deep.
Rarity and Scale Across the Solar System
The moon’s lack of a substantial atmosphere means that incoming space debris encounters no air resistance to slow it down or burn it up. Over the 17-plus years of the LRO mission, NASA’s science team has identified at least 1,000 new impact craters.
However, an event matching the scale of the McGetchin Crater happens only once every 132 years. Publishing their findings in the journal Science Advances, the team confirmed that this is the largest newly formed impact crater ever discovered in the solar system, comfortably surpassing the previous lunar record holder, which measured about 70 meters across.
Thermal Signatures and Future Lunar Exploration
Scientists deployed a heat-sensing instrument aboard the orbiter to examine the thermal properties of the newly blasted terrain. Their separate analysis revealed that while the center of the crater glows red in thermal data, the surrounding area remains 16 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than adjacent undisturbed areas during the lunar night.
Researchers attribute this temperature differential to the displaced lunar soil, known as regolith. The churned-up material piled around the rim is less dense, reducing its ability to retain heat after sunset. Understanding how these impact zones form and evolve offers practical value as space agencies plan long-term crewed bases and surface operations on the moon for the first time in over fifty years.
Honoring a Pioneer of Planetary Science
The newly mapped feature honors Tom McGetchin, a former director of the Lunar Science Institute who died in 1979. As researchers continue analyzing data captured by the Wide Angle Camera and other onboard instruments, the site serves as a fresh reminder of the active, unyielding bombardment shaping planetary surfaces across the solar system.
