An Unidentified Rocket Has Crashed into the Moon, Leaving an Unusual Crater.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from NASA has recently discovered that an unidentified rocket has crashed into the Moon, resulting in an unusual crater formation.
NASA has discovered a double crater created by a mysterious rocket impacting the Moon. (Photo: Getty Images)
American astronomers noted that the rocket’s body was launched towards the Moon at the end of last year and ultimately collided with Earth’s only natural satellite on March 4, forming an unusual double crater.
According to a press release published by NASA on June 29, the double crater indicates that the rocket’s body “has significant mass at each end.” It consists of a crater to the east with a diameter of about 18 meters, located atop a crater to the west with a diameter of about 16 meters.
This crater is very unusual, as there have been no previous impacts from rocket bodies on the Moon that created a double crater. The four Apollo SIV-B craters are larger than the recent impact, with maximum widths ranging from 35 to 40 meters.
NASA did not specify the type of rocket that their orbiter detected in the aforementioned press release. However, previously, in February, American astronomer Bill Gray suggested that it was the upper stage of the rocket involved in China’s Chang’e 5-T1 lunar mission, which was launched in October 2014. Initially, Gray mistakenly identified it as a stage of the Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX.
The Chang’e-5 (Heng’e 5) probe landed on the Moon in December 2020, collecting various rocks for testing on Earth. This mission discovered water molecules present at a concentration of up to 180 parts per million in certain areas of the Moon.
Several countries have landed or are planning missions to the Moon in recent months. Russia has scheduled the Luna-25 lunar landing mission for September, according to an announcement last month from Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin, while the United States aims to conduct a crewed lunar mission, Artemis, in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has warned that the increasing cooperation between Russia and China in space poses a risk of the two countries dominating this field. The United States is competing with Russia and China to establish the first lunar base, with aspirations to exploit potential mineral resources from Earth’s only satellite and possibly even build nuclear reactors there.
