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NASA Discovers Largest New Moon Crater in a Century
Confirmed
In Short: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter found a massive crater on the Moon, believed to be the largest newly formed crater in the solar system.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has discovered a massive new crater on the Moon, believed to be the largest newly formed crater in the solar system. The crater, dubbed 'McGetchin,' measures 730 feet wide and 141 feet deep, according to NASA.
Robert Wagner, a researcher at NASA's LRO, noticed the crater while reviewing new scans of the Moon's surface. Wagner described the crater as a 'large bright spot circled by a dark halo,' which indicated a recent impact.
Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude happens on the Moon about once in a century or even longer. The crater was formed by a comet or asteroid collision in the spring of 2024, with the object causing the impact believed to be the size of a three-to-six-story building.
The LRO, which has been studying the Moon since 2009, has identified at least 1,000 new impact craters and recorded around 100,000 additional surface changes caused by space debris striking the Moon. This latest discovery provides valuable insights into the Moon's geological structure and crater formation process.
The McGetchin crater is significant for future lunar exploration. It sits near the boundary between the Moon’s dark mare and brighter highlands, offering a unique opportunity to study a fresh crater before later impacts and space weathering change it. Both the United States and China are advancing plans for crewed missions to the Moon, and this discovery could help better prepare for these missions.
What's confirmed
- A study published Wednesday, September 16, in the journal Science Advances determined it was the largest new crater ever discovered in the solar system.
- NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has found the largest new impact crater on the Moon in its 17 years of mapping.
What's still developing
- While the Moon has numerous craters, many of which are far bigger than McGetchin, researching a crater's formation in real time can help build understanding of the Moon's geology.
- Unlike Earth, the Moon has virtually no atmospheric layer, so space debris does not slow down or burn up before colliding with the surface.
- Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that’s bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected.
- Such a large-scale event is estimated to occur only once every 132 years, researchers said, making this a treasure trove of information as NASA prepares to build a base for astronauts on the moon.
- The LRO’s numerous crater discoveries since its launch in 2009 show that the moon’s top inch of soil is being overturned by ejected material every 80,000 years, faster than previously thought, according to Robinson.
- Because the moon does not have a dense atmosphere like Earth, comets, asteroids, or other debris from space collide with its surface at high speeds.
- Published : September 17, 2026 at 5:00 PM IST Hyderabad: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have discovered the largest freshly formed crater ever recorded on the Moon, an event experts believe happens only once every hundred years or longer.
- The crater, now officially named McGetchin, was spotted by chance during a routine data check by Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist working with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).