New Craters on the Moon

  • Released Tuesday, March 17th, 2015
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:49PM
  • ID: 11806

Planetary scientists believe that small impacts regularly bombard the Moon, but until recently, they’ve had no way to distinguish new craters from the already pockmarked lunar surface. In 2009, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) arrived at the Moon and began taking high-resolution photographs. By comparing pictures taken early in the mission with more recent images, the LRO camera team has discovered more than two-dozen new impact craters – including an 18-meter-wide crater caused by a bright flash on March 17, 2013.
Learn more about this finding.

IMAGE - Close up of the March 17 crater with image processing. The outline indicates soil ejected during impact.

IMAGE - Close up of the March 17 crater with image processing. The outline indicates soil ejected during impact.

IMAGE - LROC mosaic showing the location of the March 17 crater and the pattern of ejected material. Available in labeled and clean versions.

IMAGE - LROC mosaic showing the location of the March 17 crater and the pattern of ejected material. Available in labeled and clean versions.

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Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center


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Tapes

This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:
  • New Lunar Impact Crater (ID: 2015030)
    Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at 4:00AM
    Produced by - Dan Jacob