A newly discovered crater on the moon is giving scientists a rare glimpse into the immediate aftermath of a lunar impact.
Named McGetchin crater, the feature formed sometime between April 11 and May 22 in the year 2024 when an asteroid or comet fragment struck the moon. Measuring about 728 feet (222 meters) across and roughly 141 feet (43 meters) deep, McGetchin is the largest newly formed impact crater identified by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). In fact, it's the largest newly formed crater ever found in the solar system, according to the agency. An impact capable of producing a crater this size is expected to occur on the moon only about once every century, making McGetchin an exceptionally rare real-time discovery.
The findings are detailed in two new studies published Sept 16. in the journal Science Advances. One study, led by Mark Robinson of Intuitive Machines, describes the crater itself and the enormous amount of material thrown across the lunar surface due to the impact that provoked the feature. The second study, led by researchers studying data from LRO's Diviner instrument, examines a much larger region around the crater that was physically altered by the impact. Together, the studies offer scientists something they rarely get: a pristine impact site with observations from before and after the event. And importantly, this site is seen before other processes begin to degrade it.
"McGetchin crater is exceptional because it is the largest newly formed impact crater that has been identified to date," Tyler Powell, lead author of one of the studies, told Space.com. "A crater of this size is expected to form on the moon only once per century, so we're extremely lucky it formed during the lifetime of the LRO mission and that we are able to observe the region both before and after impact."
NASA's LRO mission has been observing the moon for more than 17 years, giving researchers images and measurements of the area before and after the impact. That long-running record allowed scientists to identify subtle changes that would otherwise be difficult to detect.
The crater was first discovered in 2025 by researchers comparing LRO images of the lunar surface. But then, follow-up observations from LRO's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) revealed the fresh crater and the material blasted outward during the impact.
The two studies reveal that McGetchin's effects extend well beyond the sizable crater. LROC observations show an extensive ejecta blanket surrounding the crater, while data from LRO's Diviner Lunar Radiometer revealed an even broader thermal anomaly.
Diviner detected a roughly 4.3-mile-wide (7-kilometer-wide) "cold spot" around the crater that is about 14 to 16 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 9 kelvins) colder than the surrounding surface during the lunar night. Scientists believe the temperature difference is caused by changes to the upper layers of lunar soil as the impact disturbed and decompacted the regolith, creating a "fluffier" layer that is less able to retain heat, Powell explained.
"Impact cratering is one of the most common and important processes in the solar system. Understanding how impacts modify the surface and their surroundings is important for interpreting lunar geology and history," Powell said. "In addition, understanding how impacts influence surface properties is relevant for lunar exploration and future landed missions."
The moon is covered with impact craters, but most are ancient and have been altered by subsequent impacts and the effects of space weathering. Therefore, McGetchin being a large, pristine crater provides a valuable reference point for understanding how craters form and evolve.
The crater's pristine condition could also make it an intriguing target for future lunar exploration. Its location along a boundary between the moon's darker, basalt-covered mare and brighter highlands terrain offers scientists a chance to study how an impact affects two distinct geological environments.
A rover or crewed mission could take that research a step further by examining features that cannot be fully resolved from orbit.
"Observations from the surface would be really valuable because they would allow us to correlate what we see and map from orbit with small-scale changes to surface texture, the distribution of ejected material, and other properties that can only be studied in detail from the surface," Powell said. "This would improve our understanding of many aspects of the impact cratering process."
Those observations could also have practical implications for future lunar exploration. As NASA and other space agencies plan increasingly ambitious missions to the moon, understanding how impacts alter the physical properties of the regolith could help scientists better anticipate how future rovers, landers and other equipment will interact with the lunar surface. In that sense, McGetchin is more than a newly formed crater — it is a natural laboratory that could help scientists understand both the moon's past and the challenges awaiting future explorers.
