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NASA - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) patch.
June 24, 2022
Animation above: This animated GIF confirms the location of the newly formed rocket body double crater. The before image is LRO's view from Feb. 28, 2022 (M1400727806L). The after image is from May 21, 2022 (M1407760984R). The width of the frame is 367 meters, about 401 yards. Animation Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
Astronomers discovered a rocket body heading toward a lunar collision late last year. Impact occurred March 4, with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later spotting the resulting crater. Surprisingly the crater is actually two craters, an eastern crater (18-meter diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on a western crater (16-meter diameter, about 17.5 yards).
Image above: A rocket body impacted the Moon on March 4, 2022, near Hertzsprung crater, creating a double crater roughly 28 meters wide in the longest dimension. LROC NAC M1407760984R; image enlarged 3x. Image Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
The double crater was unexpected and may indicate that the rocket body had large masses at each end. Typically a spent rocket has mass concentrated at the motor end; the rest of the rocket stage mainly consists of an empty fuel tank. Since the origin of the rocket body remains uncertain, the double nature of the crater may indicate its identity.
Image above: The crater formed (5.226 degrees north, 234.486 degrees east, 1,863 meters elevation) in a complex area where the impact of ejecta from the Orientale basin event overlies the degraded northeast rim of Hertzsprung basin (536 kilometers diameter). The new crater is not visible in this view, but its location is indicated by the white arrow. LROC WAC mosaic, 110 kilometers width. Image Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
No other rocket body impacts on the Moon created double craters. The four Apollo SIV-B craters were somewhat irregular in outline (Apollos 13, 14, 15, 17) and were substantially larger (greater than 35 meters, about 38 yards) than each of the double craters. The maximum width (29 meters, about 31.7 yards) of the double crater of the mystery rocket body was near that of the S-IVBs.
Images above: These four images show craters formed by impacts of the Apollo SIV-B stages: crater diameters range from 35 to 40 meters (38.2 to 43.7 yards) in the longest dimension. Images Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
LRO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.
Image above: Full resolution (100 cm pixels) image centered on the new rocket body impact double crater. NAC M1407760984R, image width 1,100 meters. Image Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
Related Links:
View these images on Arizona State University's LRO Camera website:
https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/1261
Rocket impacts recorded by the Apollo seismic network:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc-20100322-apollo13booster.html
Image feature: "LRO Sees Apollo 14's Rocket Booster Impact Site":
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20090929_apollo14sivb.html
Image feature: "LRO Finds Apollo 16 Booster Rocket Impact Site":
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/lro-finds-apollo-16-booster-rocket-impact-site
LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html
Animation (mentioned), Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Rob Garner/GSFC/Nancy Neal Jones/Arizona State University/By Mark Robinson.
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