NASA spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moon

Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that’s bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected.

The steep-sided hole — about 728 feet across and up to 141 feet deep — is the solar system’s biggest known impact crater carved out in recent times.

Such a large-scale event is estimated to occur only once every 132 years, researchers said, making this a treasure trove of information as NASA prepares to build a base for astronauts on the moon.

“This event constitutes a statistically rare, effectively once-in-a-lifetime observation,” the scientists wrote in one of two studies appearing on the subject Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spotted the crater on the moon’s near side in May 2024 soon after it was formed by an incoming fragment of an asteroid or comet. The moon strike escaped real-time detection by telescopes on Earth and in space.

LRO’s wide-angle images were not identified in the crush of data until August 2025. The spacecraft gathered more detailed pictures last fall, followed by confirmation of the discovery early this year.

The crater — named for the late Thomas…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business