NASA identifies recent lunar impact crater larger than the Colosseum

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has identified a fresh impact crater on the Moon's near side that measures about 728 feet (222 meters) across and reaches a depth of roughly 141 feet (43 meters). The crater, formed by an incoming asteroid or comet fragment the size of a three- to six-story building, was created between April 11 and May 22, 2024, but escaped real-time detection by Earth-based and space-based telescopes.

The crater was first noticed in LRO's wide-angle imagery during a data review in August 2025, with more detailed images captured later that year. Named after the late Thomas McGetchin, a former director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, it is three times larger than the previous record holder identified by the LRO a decade ago.

"This event constitutes a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation," the authors wrote in a study published in Science Advances.

Researchers highlighted that impacts of this magnitude are estimated to occur roughly once every 132 years, providing valuable data for upcoming lunar base designs. The impact displaced surface material over a region extending more than 66 miles (106 kilometers) from the crater, creating a 4-mile-wide cold spot indicative of loosened regolith.

"We're now thinking of impacts as a way to garden the regolith — churning the sediments and putting stuff above that's usually below the surface," said co-author David Paige of UCLA.

LRO, operating since 2009, has shown that the Moon's upper inch of soil is overturned by ejecta roughly every 80,000 years, a rate faster than previously believed. The findings will inform risk assessments for debris striking future lunar habitats.

"That information will help engineers harden structures so one won't have to worry about damage, or maybe worry less," said Mark Robinson, chief scientist for LRO's cameras.