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Sunday, September 20, 2026 · UTC
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NASA finds largest fresh crater in the solar system on the Moon

A crater carved by a spring 2024 asteroid or comet impact is the largest fresh crater known in the solar system.

Luisa Marconi
Senior Space Correspondent
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NASA discovers massive new crater on Moon's surface
NASA discovers massive new crater on Moon's surface AI illustrationhow this picture was made
NASA researchers, using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, have found a new crater on the Moon, named McGetchin, the largest fresh crater known in the solar system.[3][4] An incoming fragment of an asteroid or comet roughly the size of a three- to six-story building struck near the Moon's eastern edge between April 11 and May 22, 2024.[2][6] The crater sits on the Moon's near side, but the impact was not detected in real time by Earth-based or space-based telescopes.[7] It is named for Thomas McGetchin, former director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.[8]
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  1. The same study estimated that with 98% water recycling efficiency like that of the International Space Station, the Moon's 1 billion tons of water could support a million-person city for about 100 years, though the authors called the required severe rationing likely unsustainable. · CNN Arabic
  2. The McGetchin crater formed near the Moon's eastern edge sometime between April 11 and May 22, 2024, when an asteroid or comet roughly the size of a three- to six-story building struck the surface. · ScienceDaily
  3. NASA researchers discovered a massive new crater named McGetchin on the Moon, formed by a comet or asteroid impact in spring 2024. · EL NACIONAL
  4. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered a new crater on the moon named McGetchin, which is the largest fresh crater known in the solar system. · Mashable
  5. The McGetchin crater formed between April 11 and May 22, 2024, on the eastern edge of the Moon due to an asteroid or comet impact. · DER STANDARDAustria
  6. The crater was formed by an incoming fragment of an asteroid or comet that struck the moon in May 2024. · WJXT News4JAX
  7. The impact occurred on the Moon's near side in 2024 but was not detected by Earth-based or space-based telescopes in real time. · The Times Of IndiaIndia
  8. The crater is named after Thomas McGetchin, former director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. · Ekonomim
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