Il Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter della NASA individua il sito dell'impatto di un razzo sulla luna, afferma la ricerca

Astronomers last year discovered the body of a rocket headed for a lunar collision. The impact occurred on March 4, and the resulting crater was later discovered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Surprisingly, the crater actually consists of two craters, an eastern crater (18 meters in diameter, about 19.5 yards), overlying a western crater (16 meters in diameter, about 17.5 yards).

Il doppio cratere era inaspettato e potrebbe indicare che il corpo del razzo aveva grandi masse a ciascuna estremità. Tipicamente un razzo esaurito ha massa concentrata all'estremità del motore; il resto della fase del razzo consiste principalmente in un serbatoio di carburante vuoto. Poiché l'origine del corpo del razzo rimane incerta, la doppia natura del cratere potrebbe indicarne l'identità.

No other rocket body impacts on the Moon created double craters. The four Apollo SIV-B craters were somewhat irregular in outline (Apollos 13, 14, 15, 17) and were substantially larger (greater than 35 meters, about 38 yards) than each of the double craters. The maximum width (29 meters, about 31.7 yards) of the double crater of the mystery rocket body was near that of the S-IVBs.

LRO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.