Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Spots Largest Fresh Crater in the Solar System, Named for Tom McGetchin
A newly discovered impact crater on the moon's eastern side, measuring 728 feet in diameter and 141 feet deep, holds the title of the largest newly formed crater in the solar system. This crater emerged between April 11 and May 22, 2024, and was initially identified in October 2025 by Robert Wagner of Intuitive Machines. Two studies released on September 16, 2025, in Science Advances provide insights into the crater, which is named in honor of lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, who passed away in 1979. The impactor, comparable in size to a three- to six-story building, is estimated to strike every 132 years. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), operational since 2009, has been gathering lunar data for almost twenty years. Additionally, another crater was formed on August 5 by a SpaceX rocket component.
Key facts
- A 728-foot-wide, 141-foot-deep crater formed on the moon's eastern edge between April 11 and May 22, 2024
- Robert Wagner of Intuitive Machines first spotted the crater in October 2025 using NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images
- Two studies describing the crater and surrounding surface changes were published September 16 in Science Advances
- The crater was named for pioneering lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, who died in 1979
- The impactor was an asteroid or comet about the size of a three- to six-story building, an event estimated once every 132 years
- LRO's Diviner thermal instrument found a four-mile-wide area around the crater about 16 degrees Fahrenheit cooler at night than its surroundings
- Ejected material disturbed the lunar surface more than 75 miles from the crater
- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2009 and has collected data on lunar topography, surface composition, temperature and radiation
Entities
Artists
- Robert Wagner
- Tyler Powell
- Tom McGetchin
- Mark Robinson
- Sarah T. Stewart
- Samantha Mathewson
- Leah Crane
- Marcia Dunn
- Laurence Tognetti
- Margherita Bassi
- Thomas McGetchin
Institutions
- NASA
- Intuitive Machines
- Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
- Science Advances
- Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- SpaceX
- Arizona State University
- Universe Today
- Space.com
- New Scientist
- Associated Press
- Smithsonian Magazine
- BBC Travel
- Discover magazine
- Live Science
- Atlas Obscura
- Hidden Compass
- Lunar and Planetary Institute
- PetaPixel
Locations
- Moon
- United States
- Maryland
- Arizona
- Houston