Fresh 700-Foot Lunar Impact Crater Offers Rare Window Into Moon's Recent History
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified a newly formed impact crater on the moon, named McGetchin, measuring about 728 feet wide and 141 feet deep. The crater resulted from a building-sized meteorite strike roughly two years ago, an event scientists estimate occurs only once every 130 years. Researchers say the fresh structure provides a unique opportunity to study recent lunar impact processes and support future human exploration.
The crater’s discovery relied on comparing LRO images taken before and after the impact, with the fresh structure first appearing in spring 2024 imagery. Named for lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, it measures roughly two football fields across and is deep enough to hold a 14-story building. Scientists estimate impacts of this size strike the moon only about once every 130 years, making the find exceptionally rare. The crater’s unweathered state preserves original impact details, and some observers have even reported spotting its bright debris ring from Earth. Two papers detailing the findings appeared in Science Advances on Sept. 16.
This discovery could sharpen models of lunar impact frequency, which directly informs risk assessments for future crewed missions and surface infrastructure. A fresh crater of this scale offers a natural laboratory for studying how impacts alter regolith and ejecta, potentially improving hazard prediction for bases or equipment. It may also engage public interest in lunar science, though its practical effects remain limited to research and planning communities in the near term.