Current:Home > MarketsA Russian spacecraft crashed on the moon last month. NASA says it's discovered where. -Zenith Investment School
A Russian spacecraft crashed on the moon last month. NASA says it's discovered where.
View
Date:2025-04-21 08:20:11
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! (2)
Related
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Emotions will run high for Virginia as the Cavaliers honor slain teammate ahead of 1st home game
- Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa -- with a lot of water
- A concerned citizen reported a mass killing at a British seaside café. Police found a yoga class.
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Wrote Letters Supporting Danny Masterson Ahead of Rape Case Sentencing
- Clashes resume in largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, killing 3 and wounding 10
- Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau's Daughter Is Pregnant With First Baby
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet Attend Star-Studded NYFW Dinner Together
Ranking
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Ill worker rescued from reseach station in Antarctica now in a hospital in Australia
- Situation Room in White House gets $50 million gut renovation. Here's how it turned out.
- Tribal nations face less accurate, more limited 2020 census data because of privacy methods
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Without Messi, Inter Miami takes on Sporting Kansas City in crucial MLS game: How to watch
- The US Supreme Court took away abortion rights. Mexico's high court just did the opposite.
- NATO member Romania finds new drone fragments on its territory from war in neighboring Ukraine
Recommendation
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
On ‘João’, Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto honors her late father, bossa nova giant João Gilberto
'Not one child should be unaccounted for:' After Maui wildfires, school enrollment suffers
The Golden Bachelor: Everything You Need to Know
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms
How to watch NFL RedZone: Stream providers, start time, cost, host, more
All the Behind-the-Scenes Secrets You Should Know While You're Binge-Watching Suits