NASA has discovered a massive new crater on the Moon — and scientists say an impact this large may happen only about once every century.
The crater was spotted using NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been photographing the Moon’s surface for years. Scientists identified the new crater by comparing images of the same area taken at different times.
According to NASA, the crater measures about 728 feet (222 meters) across and reaches as much as 141 feet (43 meters) deep.
The impact itself occurred in 2024, but researchers were able to identify the newly formed crater through later analysis of orbital imagery.
Discoveries like this help scientists understand how often large objects strike the Moon and how impacts continue to reshape its surface. Because the Moon has virtually no atmosphere to burn up incoming space rocks, its surface preserves a dramatic record of collisions stretching back billions of years.
NASA described an impact of this size as roughly a once-in-a-century event.
And while the crater may be new, it is now part of the Moon’s permanent landscape — another reminder that our nearest celestial neighbor is still changing.
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