NASA spacecraft discovers moon crater bigger than Roman Colosseum
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified a massive new impact crater on the moon caused by an asteroid or comet strike in 2024. The crater is the largest recent impact site discovered, measuring 728 feet across and providing rare data for future lunar exploration.
Why it matters
This discovery offers critical insights into lunar surface stability and impact frequency, which are essential for planning long-term human bases on the moon.
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.The steep-sided hole measured about 728 feet across, the length of two football fields, and up to 141 feet deep, equivalent to three vertically stacked yellow school buses, according to NASA. It's the solar system's biggest known impact crater carved out in recent times.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."This event constitutes a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation," the scientists wrote in one of two studies appearing on the subject Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the crater on the moon's near side sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024,…
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