NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds Largest Recent Moon Impact Crater

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) detected a steep-sided crater on the Moon's near side that measures about 222 meters across and 43 meters deep. The impact, which occurred roughly two years ago, escaped real-time observation by Earth-based and space telescopes and was only identified in LRO data in August 2025. Subsequent high-resolution imaging confirmed the feature early this year.

The crater, named after the late Thomas McGetchin of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, is three times larger than the previous record holder identified by LRO a decade ago. Researchers estimate that impacts of this magnitude occur roughly once every 132 years, making the site valuable for scientific study as NASA plans a lunar base.

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

Mark Robinson, chief scientist for LRO's cameras, noted that the impact ejected dust and rock at a higher angle than expected, disturbing the lunar surface over a distance of about 100 kilometers. A separate analysis found a 7-kilometer-wide cold spot surrounding the crater, indicating loosening of the 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.

Robinson added that the Moon's uppermost soil layer is overturned by ejecta roughly every 80,000 years, faster than previously believed, and that footprints left by Apollo astronauts are expected to disappear within that timeframe. The next research phase will assess the risk that ejected material could strike future lunar structures, informing design safeguards for the planned base.