Overview
- The depression formed in spring 2024 between April 11 and May 22 and was found during a routine re‑examination of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery by Robert Wagner.
- Detailed measurements from LRO place the feature at about 222 meters across and roughly 43 meters deep and the team has named it McGetchin after geologist Thomas McGetchin.
- High‑resolution images and Diviner thermal data reveal surface disturbances extending more than 100 kilometers and a roughly 7‑kilometre‑wide nocturnal cold zone around the crater.
- Trajectory and ejecta analyses show some material was launched at steeper angles and higher speeds than expected, and models now estimate a crater this size forms on the Moon on average about every 132 years.
- Researchers at NASA, Intuitive Machines and Johns Hopkins APL say the fresh, near‑real‑time dataset will be used to refine impact, ejecta and regolith models and to reassess hazards for rovers, landers and planned crewed operations.