Artistic animation of a rocket accelerator crashing into the moon.
Astronomers have discovered the body of a rocket aimed at a lunar collision late last year. The impact occurred on March 4, 2022, and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) later spotted the resulting crater. Surprisingly, the crater is actually two craters, an eastern crater (18 meters in diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on a western crater (16 meters in diameter, about 17.5 yards).
This animated GIF confirms the location of the newly formed double crater of the rocket body. The previous image is a view of the LRO of 28 February 2022 (M1400727806L). The following image is from May 21, 2022 (M1407760984R). The width of the frame is 367 meters, about 401 yards. Credit: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University
The double crater was unexpected and could indicate that the rocket’s body has large masses at each end. Usually the spent rocket has a mass concentrated at the end of the engine; the rest of the rocket stage consists mainly of an empty fuel tank. As the origin of the rocket’s body remains uncertain, the dual nature of the crater may indicate its identity.
A rocket hit the moon on March 4, 2022, near the Herzsprung crater, creating a double crater approximately 28 meters wide in the longest dimension. LROC NAC M1407760984R; the image is magnified 3x. Credit: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University
No other rocket strikes on the moon create double craters. The four Apollo SIV-B craters were slightly irregular in shape (Apollos 13, 14, 15, 17) and were significantly larger (more than 35 meters, about 38 yards) than each of the double craters. The maximum width (29 meters, about 31.7 yards) of the double crater of the body of the mysterious missile was close to that of the S-IVB.
These four images show craters formed by impacts on the Apollo SIV-B stages: the diameter of the crater varies from 35 to 40 meters (38.2 to 43.7 yards) in the longest dimension. Credit: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is a robotic spacecraft that currently orbits the moon in an eccentric polar cartographic orbit. LRO data are essential for planning NASA’s upcoming human and robotic missions to the moon.
The crater formed (5,226 degrees north, 234,486 degrees east, 1,863 meters above sea level) in a complex area where the impact of a discharge from the Orientale Basin event exceeds the degraded northeastern edge of the Herzsprung Basin (536 kilometers in diameter). The new crater is not visible in this view, but its location is indicated by a white arrow.LROC WAC Mosaic, 110 kilometers (68 miles) wide Credit: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University
The LRO is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Directorate of Scientific Missions at NASA’s Washington headquarters. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has amassed a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful tools, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of the moon.
Full resolution image (100 cm pixels) centered on the double crater from the impact of the rocket hull. NAC M1407760984R, image width 1100 meters. Credit: NASA / Goddard / Arizona State University
With Artemis, NASA returns to the moon with trade and international partners to expand the human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.
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