Scientists recently made a groundbreaking discovery of a massive crater on the moon, surpassing the size of the Roman Colosseum. This crater, formed by a powerful impact two years ago, was initially undetected. Measuring 222 meters across and up to 43 meters deep, it stands as the largest known impact crater in the solar system created in recent history.

Considered a rare occurrence, such a significant event is estimated to happen only once every 132 years. This discovery provides invaluable insights as NASA moves forward with plans to establish a lunar base for astronauts. The researchers emphasized the extraordinary nature of this event, describing it as a statistically rare observation.

The crater, named after the late Thomas McGetchin, was identified by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on the moon’s near side in May 2024, following an impact by an asteroid or comet fragment. Despite going unnoticed by telescopes on Earth and in space initially, the LRO eventually captured detailed images confirming the existence of the crater.

Mark Robinson, the chief scientist for LRO’s cameras at Intuitive Machines, highlighted that this recent impact altered over 100 kilometers of the lunar surface. The ejected material, including dust and rocky soil, was dispersed at a higher angle than anticipated. Robinson, the lead author of one of the studies, likened the impact to a gardening process, stirring up the moon’s regolith.

A related study found a seven-kilometer-wide cold spot surrounding the new crater, indicating a disturbance in the moon’s topsoil. Co-author David Paige from the University of California, Los Angeles, compared this phenomenon to gardening, suggesting that impacts serve as a way to rejuvenate the moon’s surface.

Robinson revealed that the LRO’s discoveries have shown that the moon’s top two centimeters of soil are overturned by ejected material approximately every 80,000 years, a faster rate than previously believed. He dispelled the notion that the footprints left by Apollo moonwalkers will endure forever, emphasizing that they will likely disappear within that timeframe.

Looking ahead, the researchers aim to assess the risk of ejected crater material hitting NASA’s planned moon base to inform the design of structures for increased resilience. This information will be crucial for engineers to safeguard the base from potential damage.