It was a routine data-quality check that no one know would turn into a remarkable NASA Moon discovery. The striking discovery came to light after scientist Robert Wagner noticed an unusual bright spot surrounded by a dark halo while scanning a massive map of the lunar surface. “I just stopped, dropped everything, and started looking into what that spot was,” Wagner said. At the first glance, it appeared likely as a strange mark eventually turned out to be a newly formed lunar crater, created when a comet or asteroid slammed into the Moon sometime in 2024. According to scientists, the impact impact capable of producing a crater of this size happens only about once every century or even longer. The discovery, reported in Science Advances, also shows how NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) continues to uncover changes taking place on the Moon.
