Since the origin of the rocket body remains uncertain, the double nature of the crater may indicate its identity.
A rocket body impacted the Moon on March 4, 2022, near Hertzsprung crater, creating a double crater roughly 28 meters wide in the longest dimension.Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
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.
These four images show craters formed by impacts of the Apollo SIV-B stages: crater diameters range from 35 to 40 meters (38.2 to 43.7 yards) in the longest dimension.Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
The crater formed (5.226 degrees north, 234.486 degrees east, 1,863 meters elevation) in a complex area where the impact of ejecta from the Orientale basin event overlies the degraded northeast rim of Hertzsprung basin (536 kilometers (333 miles) diameter).Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.
Full resolution (100 cm pixels) image centered on the new rocket body impact double crater.Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University.