Current:Home > InvestA Russian spacecraft crashed on the moon last month. NASA says it's discovered where. -TradeSphere
A Russian spacecraft crashed on the moon last month. NASA says it's discovered where.
Fastexy View
Date:2025-04-10 17:01:02
NASA has released images showing where it believes Russia's failed Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface of the moon two weeks ago.
NASA said its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) operations team used estimates of the impact point published by Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, on Aug. 21, two days after the crash. The team then sent instructions to the LRO spacecraft to capture images of the area, which it did last week.
When the LRO team compared the new images to ones that were taken before the impact, in June 2022, they found a new crater.
MORE: New York to London in 90 minutes? NASA exploring passenger jet that could do it
"Since this new crater is close to the Luna-25 estimated impact point, the LRO team concludes it is likely to be from that mission, rather than a natural impactor," the agency wrote in a statement.
The new crater is nearly 33 feet wide and is located at about 58 degrees south latitude, on the southwest rim of the moon's Pontécoulant G impact crater, created millions of years ago, according to NASA.
The Luna-25 impact crater is a little more than 200 miles from where the spacecraft had planned to land, which was at near 70 degrees south latitude.
Russia launched the Luna-25 mission on Aug. 10 in an attempt to return to the moon for the first time since 1976 and intended to land in the lunar south polar region, an area that has been largely unexplored and is believed to contain frozen water. However, Russia's space agency lost contact with the spacecraft, and it crashed on Aug. 19 at 7:58 a.m. ET, two days before its scheduled landing.
Four days later, India became the fourth country to successfully land on the moon after its Chandrayaan-3 craft touched down in the south polar region, where it was scheduled to remain for two weeks, conducting experiments and gathering data.
MORE: NASA asks for help studying Uranus and Neptune as it prepares to capture new images
The moon is covered with impact craters from asteroids and comets striking the lunar surface, according to the Lunar Planetary Institute. Scientists measure the size and the number of craters in an area to determine their age, which can be as old as three billion years.
While Earth has had its share of impacts from space rocks, those craters are harder to recognize due to weather and the erosion of the Earth's surface. Because the moon lacks tectonic activity and flowing water, and its atmosphere is negligible, most lunar surface craters are still visible, the LPI said.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Activists sue Harvard over legacy admissions after affirmative action ruling
- Biochar Traps Water and Fixes Carbon in Soil, Helping the Climate. But It’s Expensive
- Trump’s Power Plant Plan Can’t Save Coal from Market Forces
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Did Exxon Mislead Investors About Climate-Related Risks? It’s Now Up to a Judge to Decide.
- Power Plants’ Coal Ash Reports Show Toxics Leaking into Groundwater
- Coal Train Protesters Target One of New England’s Last Big Coal Power Plants
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Can Illinois Handle a 2000% Jump in Solar Capacity? We’re About to Find Out.
Ranking
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Get $95 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Skincare Masks for 50% Off
- Drive-by shooting on D.C. street during Fourth of July celebrations wounds 9
- Emily Blunt Shares Insight into Family Life With Her and John Krasinski’s Daughters
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Sarah-Jade Bleau Shares the One Long-Lasting Lipstick That Everyone Needs in Their Bag
- Woman dies while hiking in triple-digit heat at Grand Canyon National Park
- Army utilizes a different kind of boot camp to bolster recruiting numbers
Recommendation
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
YouTuber Grace Helbig reveals breast cancer diagnosis: It's very surreal
RHOC's Tamra Judge Reveals Where She and Shannon Beador Stand After Huge Reconciliation Fight
Drive-by shooting on D.C. street during Fourth of July celebrations wounds 9
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
The Senate Reinstates Methane Emissions Regulations Rolled Back by Trump, Marking a Clear Win for Climate Activists
If Aridification Choked the Southwest for Thousands of Years, What Does The Future Hold?
Baby girl among 4 found dead by Texas authorities in Rio Grande river on U.S.-Mexico border in just 48 hours