A rocket hit the moon on March 4, creating a double crater about 91 feet wide.
NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University
As we think of the moon as a static place, sometimes an event occurs that reminds us that things can change quickly.
On March 4, a man-made object (rocket) crashed into the moon and left behind a double crater, as seen by the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission.
Officials announced on June 23rd that they had spotted a double crater linked to the event. But what is really interesting is that there is no consensus on what kind of rocket caused it.
China has denied allegations that the rocket was part of the Long March 3 rocket, which launched the country’s Chang’e-5 T1 mission in October 2014, although the orbit appears to coincide. Previous speculation has suggested that it may be from a SpaceX rocket that launched the DISCOVR mission, but more recent analysis has largely discredited that.
This is what the site of the March 4 rocket crash looked like from a wider field of view.
NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University
On a larger scale, the value of LRO observations such as this shows how the Moon can change even for a short period of time. The spacecraft has been in orbit there since 2009 and has spotted many new craters since its arrival.
He is also a great spacecraft scout after tracking Apollo’s landing sites from orbit and has also tracked several craters from other missions that have hit the moon since the dawn of space exploration.
It may be that humans are returning to the moon to take a closer look at the next decade, as NASA develops the Artemis program to send people to the surface no earlier than 2025.
The LRO will also be a valuable scout for this set of missions, as the spacecraft’s maps will be used to develop plans for lunar bases or to assist in reconnaissance of safe landing sites for astronauts.
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