Tag

Lro

All articles tagged with #lro

space17 days ago•121 min saved

Moon's 'once-in-a-century' crater McGetchin photographed by LRO

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a new Moon crater, McGetchin, about 221.9 meters wide and 43 meters deep. Discovered in Oct 2025 and imaged on Dec 5, 2025, scientists believe the impact occurred in 2024 and involved an object roughly the size of a three-to-six-story building. Described as the largest newly formed crater on the Moon (and possibly in the solar system), the pristine site provides a rare opportunity to study fresh lunar geology before space weather erodes it.

via Space|

#crater #lro #lunar-geology

space19 days ago•16 min saved

Moon’s Freshest Crater McGetchin Sets Solar-System Record

A routine Lunar map check uncovered a new 222‑metre crater named McGetchin, formed between 11 April and 22 May 2024 inside the Crisium basin on the Moon’s eastern near side. At 43 metres deep, it stands as the largest newly formed crater found anywhere in the solar system. A seven‑kilometre cold spot and an 8–9 kelvin nighttime cooling anomaly accompany the feature, consistent with impact decompaction. The event is estimated to have released about 6.5×10^10 kilojoules, far surpassing previous records. Observations come from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Diviner thermal data, with implications for dating the youngest craters; researchers also call for in‑situ follow‑ups to better understand the cold spots and ejecta dynamics.

via Space Daily|

#cold-spot #crisium-basin #lro

space21 days ago•2 min saved

LRO Spots Fresh Lunar Crater From Rare Century-Scale Impact

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter confirmed a newly formed crater on the Moon, named McGetchin, created by an impact between April 11 and May 22, 2024. The crater measures about 728 feet (222 meters) across and 141 feet (43 meters) deep, making it the largest modern‑day lunar crater, though not the Moon’s largest overall. Such impacts are estimated to occur roughly every 132 years. Follow-up images show a four‑mile‑wide area around the crater that remains about 16°F cooler at night, likely from disturbed regolith, which could affect rover-wheel interactions near fresh craters.

via Engadget|

#crater #lro #moon

space21 days ago•123 min saved

Moon’s McGetchin Crater: A Real-Time Window Into Impact Physics

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter identified McGetchin crater as the largest newly formed impact crater on the Moon, about 728 feet (222 meters) wide and 141 feet (43 meters) deep, formed between April 11 and May 22, 2024. The site, observed before and after the impact, shows an extensive ejecta blanket and a ~4.3-mile-wide thermal “cold spot” around it, revealing how the surface and upper regolith were disturbed. The findings—published in Science Advances—offer a pristine natural laboratory for studying crater formation and lunar geology with implications for future exploration.

via Space|

#crater #geology #lro

space22 days ago•392 min saved

Moon uncovers its largest recent crater, prompting rethink of lunar bases

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified the Moon’s largest known recent impact crater, McGetchin, about 728 feet (220 meters) wide and up to 141 feet (43 meters) deep on the near side. Formed in May 2024 by a fragment from an asteroid or comet and confirmed in 2025–26, the crater is three times larger than the previous LRO record-holder and has churned the surface over roughly 66 miles, ejecting dust and rocks at higher angles than expected. A separate study notes a 4‑mile-wide cold spot around the crater, consistent with regolith upheaval. Scientists say such a large event is statistically rare (about once every 132 years) and the data will help NASA plan a future Moon base by assessing ejecta risks and how the topmost soil is mixed, acknowledging that Apollo footprints won’t necessarily last as long as once thought.

via NBC News|

#crater #lro #moon

space26 days ago•133 min saved

NASA and IBM Release Open-Source AI to Map the Moon

NASA and IBM introduced the NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model, an open-source AI tool on Hugging Face designed to help scientists analyze the Moon’s data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, including crater mapping, locating young volcanic features, and modeling water ice near the poles, accelerating exploration by turning vast lunar datasets into actionable insights.

via Space|

#ai #ibm #lro

space1 month ago•4 min saved

NASA Captures Fresh Moon Crater Linked to SpaceX Falcon 9 Impact

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured before-and-after images showing an 18-meter-wide, under-3-meter-deep crater on the Moon created when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage crashed there during a January 2025 mission to deliver two landers; the predicted impact site was accurately confirmed from diverse viewing angles and timing.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|

#falcon-9 #lro #lunar-crater

space1 month ago•160 min saved

SpaceX upper stage leaves 60-foot crater on the Moon, spied by NASA's LRO

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage slammed into the Moon on Aug. 5, 2026, carving a roughly 60-foot-wide crater near Einstein Crater at about 5,400 mph; NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured imagery on Aug. 11–12 showing bright and dark ejecta and a crater depth under 10 feet. The stage had been drifting for over 18 months and had previously carried two lunar lander attempts—Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience—before the crash.

via Space|

#einstein-crater #lro #lunar-impact

space1 month ago•2 min saved

NASA Spots 60-Foot Lunar Crater From SpaceX Falcon 9 Debris Collision

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a new 60-foot-wide, 12-foot-deep crater on the Moon after SpaceX Falcon 9’s upper stage crashed there on Aug. 5 from the Jan. 15, 2025 Blue Ghost mission. The imagery, taken Aug. 11–12, required tilting LRO to look straight down with the Narrow-Angle Camera. The impact, traveling about 5,400 mph, involved a stage roughly 39 feet long, 13 feet wide, weighing ~4,000 kg. The darker ejecta rays reflect older surface material, while lighter rim material comes from deeper underground. Independent analysts predicted the collision and helped confirm the event.

via Engadget|

#blue-ghost-mission #falcon-9 #lro

space1 month ago•2 min saved

NASA-curnished view shows 60-foot Moon crater from SpaceX impact

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter released before-and-after images showing a roughly 60-foot-wide, less-than-10-foot-deep crater carved into the Moon by SpaceX’s upper‑stage impact on Aug. 5, 2026, at about 5,400 mph; the fresh ejecta rays and bright material were captured from about 60 miles up, illustrating a recent lunar impact and highlighting NASA’s ongoing push to commercialize lunar exploration.

via nypost.com|

#falcon-9 #lro #moon-crater

space1 month ago•3 min saved

NASA Images Show 60-Foot Lunar Crater From SpaceX Falcon 9 Crash

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured before-and-after imagery of a roughly 60-foot-wide crater on the Moon, created when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage crashed on Aug. 5. The site, on the sunlit limb, shows bright and dark ejecta rays and a depth likely under 10 feet, with the crater center around 1,700 feet in elevation. Images taken Aug. 11–12 followed tracking of the booster’s trajectory, and observations also came from a Chilean telescope and South Korea’s Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter. SpaceX noted disposal challenges but emphasized space safety, marking one of the rare cases of a human-made object unintentionally impacting the Moon and fueling ongoing space-sustainability discussions.

via NBC News|

#crater #lro #moon

space1 month ago•200 min saved

NASA captures fresh Moon crater from SpaceX upper-stage collision

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter released new images showing a roughly 60-foot crater on the Moon created when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 upper stage collided with the lunar surface on Aug. 5 after being discarded in orbit. Danuri’s observations guided follow-up imaging, and NASA notes the event posed no threat to Earth while providing data to study the Moon’s surface and inform future astronaut infrastructure and shielding.

via CNN|

#lro #moon #nasa

space-and-astronomy2 months ago•47 min saved

Danuri Captures SpaceX Moon Impact, Sparking Debris Responsibility Debate

South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter photographed the Moon before and after a defunct SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage slammed into the lunar surface at about 5,400 mph, leaving a fresh dark scar near Einstein crater. Danuri’s eight imaging sessions provide data on impact dynamics and ejecta, with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter likely to image the site again. The event raises questions about who is responsible for deep-space debris and the lack of end-of-life disposal standards beyond Earth orbit.

via Yahoo|

#danuri #lro #lunarimpact

science3 months ago•15 min saved

Forgotten Lunokhod 1 reflector reactivated, boosting lunar laser ranging

In 2010, NASA’s LRO imagery pinpointed Lunokhod 1’s lunar reflector after decades of ambiguity, enabling APOLLO to recover a strong laser return and significantly improve Earth–Moon distance measurements and gravity tests.

via Space Daily|

#apollo #lro #lunar-laser-ranging

science5 months ago•4 min saved

Moon Water Built Up Over Billions of Years, Not a One-Time Event

New analysis using NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data shows that ice in permanently shadowed lunar craters accreted gradually over about 3 to 3.5 billion years from multiple sources—comet/asteroid deliveries, solar-wind interactions, and ancient volcanic activity—challenging the idea of a single Late Heavy Bombardment event. The oldest, most shadowed craters host the most ice, a result with strong implications for future Moon missions and in‑situ resource use, though direct sample analysis is needed to confirm the exact origins.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#ice #lro #moon