'Mystery rocket' that crashed into the Moon cause 'double crater': NASA

By Team Newsable | First Published Jun 30, 2022, 11:41 AM IST

The two large masses on each end of the rocket may have caused the craters, according to NASA, but the impact marks are extremely unusual.

NASA has located the crash site of a 'mystery rocket body' that hit the Moon's surface earlier this year. The impact left a widespread 'double crater' indicating that this was no ordinary rocket.

However, no one of Earth's space-exploring nations has claimed responsibility for the mysterious projectile's launch, leaving NASA scientists perplexed about who was behind its launch. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter released new images of the unusual impact site on June 24.

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"Surprisingly, the crater is two craters," NASA reported. A western crater is overlaid on an eastern crater (18 metres in diameter, or around 19.5 yards) (16-meter diameter, about 17.5 yards). The double crater was surprising... There have been no other rocket body impacts on the Moon that have resulted in double craters.

After spotting the unidentified rocket on a collision course with the Moon late last year, astronomers predicted the crash. It finally collided on March 4 near the Hertzsprung crater, a "complex" impact crater on the Moon's far side.

According to NASA, the two large masses on each end of the rocket may have caused the craters, but the impact marks are extremely unusual. According to NASA, spent rockets typically have a heavy motor on one end and a lighter empty fuel tank on the other. The space agency made no guesses as to what the extra mass was.

"Because the origin of the rocket body is unknown, the dual nature of the crater may indicate its identity," NASA said in a statement.

According to Arizona State University data from 2016, at least 47 NASA rocket bodies have caused "spacecraft impacts" on the Moon. According to NASA, four large moon craters associated with the Apollo 13, 14, 15, and 17 missions are significantly larger than each of the overlapping craters created by the March 4 impact. However, scientists claim that the new double crater's maximum width is comparable to the Apollo craters.

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