The impact that evaded all telescopes: A massive crater opened on the Moon

NASA's LRO spacecraft discovered a fresh impact crater on the Moon, 222 meters wide and 43 meters deep, created by an asteroid or comet fragment strike in May 2024. The event, which occurs once every 132 years, evaded all telescopes in real time. The data will be used by NASA to plan a permanent manned base on the Moon.

NASA's LRO spacecraft discovered a fresh and massive impact crater on the Moon, 222 meters wide and 43 meters deep – larger than the Colosseum in Rome. The crater, named Thomas McGetchin, was formed in May 2024 by an asteroid or comet fragment strike, but completely evaded all telescopes on Earth or in space in real time. Only in August 2025 were the images identified from the spacecraft's data load, and finally confirmed in studies published in Science Advances. The explosion's force shook the lunar surface over a radius of more than 100 kilometers, and identified a "cold zone" about seven kilometers wide around the crater, indicating loosening of the topsoil layer. Researchers compared the process to "cosmic gardening." The event is defined as a rare statistical occurrence happening once every 132 years. NASA, preparing to establish a permanent manned base on the Moon, will use the impact data to calculate risks from flying debris strikes and to shield future structures.