NASA was able to find the impact crater of an unknown rocket that crashed into the moon on March 4, 2022. This was made possible by the LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), an American robotic spaceraft designed for lunar exploration.
The LRO was launched in June 2009 for a one-year mission that was successfully completed. After completing its primary mission, the LRO continued to orbit the moon performing support work including preparation for the Artemis Mission.
Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University
NASA showed the image where you can see a double crater formed by an eastern crater (18 meters in diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on a western crater (16 meters in diameter, about 17.5 yards),
when the rocket was discovered in space and that its trajectory would lead it to collide with the moon, it was initially assumed that it would be a Space X rocket but this was quickly dismissed, then it was thought to be a stage of the 2014 Chang'e-5 T1 mission of China,
however the Chinese Foreign Ministry assured that this was not true and today after the impact and after having discovered the area where this occurred, the nature of the crashed rocket is still unknown.
This is a serious confirmation that there is a total lack of control over space debris that is slowly becoming a real headache, as it could affect the integrity of space missions,
orbiting satellites and could even affect the ability of ground-based telescopes to investigate space among many other things.
Craters left by rockets of the Apollo missions
Credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University
The existence of the double crater represents a mystery since it has never occurred before. All rocket impact craters on the moon have been single as well as about twice as large.
NASA shared rocket impact images from the Apollo missions for comparison. Rockets usually consist of a large mass caused by the engine at one end of the rocket and an empty tank with little weight where the fuel was.
However, the double crater seems to suggest that the rocket had large masses at each end.
High-resolution image
The creation of the double crater could be a clue to the nature of the crashed rocket, however, and for the moment the mystery persists.
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