NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Discovers a New 222-m Diameter Lunar Crater

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team recently discovered a new crater on the Moon that is twice the length of an American football field. The study, published in Science Advances, was conducted by members of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) science team, including Principal Investigator and lead author Dr. Mark Robinson of Intuitive Machines and co-author Dr. Julie Stopar of USRA's Lunar and Planetary Institute. 

The crater is scientifically important because it is the largest yet that was formed and discovered during LRO's lifetime at the Moon. Scientists estimate that it was formed between April 11 and May 22, 2024,, about 2.5 years ago. It measures 222-m in diameter; this is a size that is estimated to form roughly once in a lifetime, or ~130 years. The crater shows the immediate effects of the impact cratering process before exposure to space and meteorite bombardment wears it down and hence is very useful for further studies. 

It is officially named McGetchin crater after Thomas McGetchin by the International Astronomical Union (https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/16447). Dr. McGetchin served as Director of the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), then known as the Lunar Science Institute (LSI), beginning in 1977, the same year that marked the inaugural summer of the LPI Internships in Planetary Science Program. A renowned volcanologist and lunar scientist, McGetchin made lasting contributions to planetary science. The model of impact-crater ejecta developed by McGetchin and colleagues in 1973 remains an important framework for interpreting the formation and distribution of ejecta around impact craters and basins.

The new crater seems to have formed on a boundary between the cratered and craggy lunar highlands and a wide, flat mare. Its depth is about 43 meters on average.

The crater is also surrounded by a bright blanket of ejecta — rock and dust that splashed out in all directions when the impact occurred — that extends hundreds of meters from the rim.

Additional Information

After the embargo lifts, anyone may view a copy of the manuscript at https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv.

Reporters can access the paper at VancePak, https://www.eurekalert.org/press/vancepak/.

For reporters having difficulties accessing the paper from the press package, please have them contact [email protected].

For information on Planetary names, go to (https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/16447).

Authors of the Science Advances paper: Mark S. Robinson, Aaron K. Boyd, Prasun Mahanti, Madeleine R. Manheim, Emerson J. Speyerer, Julie D. Stopar, Robert V. Wagner

About LPI

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), an institute of Universities Space Research Association, was established during the Apollo program in 1968 to foster international collaboration and to serve as a repository for information gathered during the early years of the space program. Today, the LPI is an intellectual leader in lunar and planetary science. The Institute serves as a scientific forum attracting world-class visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students, and resident experts; supports and serves the research community through newsletters, meetings, and other activities; collects and disseminates planetary data, engages and excites the public about space science and invests in the development of future generations of scientists. The research carried out at the LPI supports NASA's efforts to explore the solar system. More information about LPI is available at www.lpi.usra.edu.

About USRA 

Founded in 1969, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is an independent, nonprofit organization that advances space- and Earth-related science, engineering, and technology through innovative research, education, and workforce development programs. USRA partners with government agencies, academic institutions, and industry to address some of the nation's most complex scientific and technical challenges.

For more information, visit www.usra.edu 

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SOURCE Universities Space Research Association