Business
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
NASA LRO finds 728-foot Moon crater named for McGetchin
The Economic Times··18 Sept
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted a new 728-foot crater after a May 2024 impact on the Moon's near side, researchers wrote in Science Advances. Scientists confirmed the find in early 2026 and named it for Thomas McGetchin. It is about three times larger than the prior LRO record for a recent crater. Such impacts occur about once every 132 years.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Future lunar base planners may account for debris reaching sites far from new impacts.
- Apollo footprint sites face faster regolith turnover than once assumed, scientists said.
- Space agencies studying strike rates get a rare fresh crater to measure directly.
What's Happening
- Wide-angle images from May 2024 were reviewed until August 2025.
- Lead scientist Mark Robinson works on LRO cameras at Intuitive Machines.
- An asteroid or comet fragment caused the strike.
McGetchin crater size on the Moon
- Previous record holder for a recent LRO crater was far smaller.
- Researchers called the event a once-in-a-lifetime observation.
- Robinson said ejecta angles exceeded prior expectations.
all-news
