How lunar craters form

When asteroids and meteorites slam into the Moon at speeds over 40,000 miles per hour, the explosive impact vaporizes rock and carves out bowl-shaped scars we call craters.

The Moon's lack of atmosphere means meteorites hit at full speed with zero air resistance, creating far larger craters than identical impacts would on Earth.

Most lunar craters formed billions of years ago during the "Late Heavy Bombardment," when the inner solar system was a chaotic shooting gallery of space rocks.

The Moon's largest impact basin, the South Pole-Aitken, is so massive it punched through the crust and exposed the mantle beneath the surface.

Impact craters reveal lunar geology like a cross-section—scientists study their layers to understand the Moon's internal structure and composition history.

Crater rays—bright streaks radiating from fresh impacts—are pulverized rock ejected outward, gradually darkening as solar radiation ages the exposed material.

Some lunar craters contain permanently shadowed regions cold enough to preserve water ice for billions of years—potential resources for future Moon bases.

Central peaks in large craters form when the Moon's crust rebounds after impact, like ripples in water, creating mountain peaks inside crater bowls.

Seismic data from Apollo missions showed that crater impacts trigger moonquakes lasting hours, revealing the Moon has a partially molten core unlike Earth's.

Recent studies suggest ancient lunar impacts may have triggered volcanic eruptions by fracturing the crust, fundamentally reshaping the Moon's entire surface evolution.