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NASA Discovers Largest New Moon Crater in a Century
Confirmed
In Short: NASA has discovered the largest newly formed crater on the Moon, a result of a massive impact event.
NASA researchers have identified the largest new crater ever discovered on the Moon, a finding that occurred during a routine data check. Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera system, noticed a large bright spot surrounded by a dark halo on a lunar map on October 24, 2025.
The crater, named McGetchin in honor of pioneering lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, measures 728 feet wide and 141 feet deep. It was formed by an asteroid or comet roughly the size of a three- to six-story building between April 11 and May 22, 2024.
Wagner and his team compared before-and-after images to confirm the discovery. The crater’s formation is significant as it is the largest new crater identified in the solar system to date, according to NASA.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been mapping the Moon since 2009, has identified over 1,000 new impact craters and flagged around 100,000 additional surface changes linked to impacts or debris spread by them. This latest discovery highlights the ongoing changes to the lunar surface.
The McGetchin crater is notable not just for its size but also for the effects it has on the surrounding terrain. Scientists found a zone around the crater that is cooler at night than the surrounding area, indicating changes in the lunar surface composition and temperature.
This discovery provides valuable insights into the Moon’s geological structure and the crater formation process, enhancing our understanding of lunar impacts and their effects on the Moon’s surface.
What's confirmed
- NASA researchers have identified the largest new crater ever discovered on the Moon, a finding that occurred during a routine data check. Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera system, noticed a large bright spot surrounded by a dark halo on a lunar map on October 24, 2025.
- The crater, named McGetchin in honor of pioneering lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, measures 728 feet wide and 141 feet deep. It was formed by an asteroid or comet roughly the size of a three- to six-story building between April 11 and May 22, 2024.
- Wagner and his team compared before-and-after images to confirm the discovery. The crater’s formation is significant as it is the largest new crater identified in the solar system to date, according to NASA.
- The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been mapping the Moon since 2009, has identified over 1,000 new impact craters and flagged around 100,000 additional surface changes linked to impacts or debris spread by them. This latest discovery highlights the ongoing changes to the lunar surface.
- The McGetchin crater is notable not just for its size but also for the effects it has on the surrounding terrain. Scientists found a zone around the crater that is cooler at night than the surrounding area, indicating changes in the lunar surface composition and temperature.
- This discovery provides valuable insights into the Moon’s geological structure and the crater formation process, enhancing our understanding of lunar impacts and their effects on the Moon’s surface.
What's still developing
- Through the comparison of photographs, researchers were able to prove that this was a result of a massive impact event, making it the largest new crater ever discovered in the solar system.
- The story began not with a planned search for a giant crater, but with a data-quality check.
- Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude occurs on the Moon only about once a century, or possibly even less frequently.
- Learn more about the latest moon crater spotted by the LRO and how it changed the moon's surface.
- It’s also about 141 feet deep and could easily fit three vertically stacked school buses inside, according to NASA.
- The rocks that create these craters are about 43 inches wide — or the size of a monster truck tire, according to NASA.
- The research team found these results to be remarkable, as they show that larger lunar impacts can change the moon’s surface beyond the crater and could even change how lunar rover tires interact with the surface, according to NASA.
- Read More : New Images Show the 60-Foot Crater a SpaceX Rocket Left on the Moon The moon is full of craters, many of which are the result of impacts from asteroids and comets.