The LROC team has reported a newly discovered 72‑foot (22‑meter) crater just north of Römer crater, likely formed between December 2009 and December 2012. Nicknamed a "freckle," the impact produced bright, sunburst-shaped ejecta rays that will darken over time from space weathering. Detecting fresh craters through before-and-after orbital images helps scientists measure impact and degradation rates and refine landing-site safety for upcoming crewed missions such as NASA's Artemis.
Tiny 'Freckle' on the Moon: LRO Finds New 72‑Foot Crater Near Römer
The LROC team has reported a newly discovered 72‑foot (22‑meter) crater just north of Römer crater, likely formed between December 2009 and December 2012. Nicknamed a "freckle," the impact produced bright, sunburst-shaped ejecta rays that will darken over time from space weathering. Detecting fresh craters through before-and-after orbital images helps scientists measure impact and degradation rates and refine landing-site safety for upcoming crewed missions such as NASA's Artemis.
10:43 PM, 11/19/2025Science
Scientists have identified a newly formed crater on the Moon — a small, roughly 72‑foot (22‑meter) impact nicknamed a "freckle" — located just north of the Römer crater. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team reports the feature likely formed between December 2009 and December 2012.
LROC detects fresh impacts through temporal analysis, comparing before-and-after orbital images of the same areas to reveal changes. This technique has revealed hundreds of recent craters since the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived in 2009; by 2016 the team had cataloged more than 200, and in 2023 LRO observed a likely human-made crater produced when the Luna 25 lander crashed.
Observations show bright material was ejected tens of yards from the rim, producing distinctive sunburst-shaped rays of ejecta—an indicator of a relatively young impact. "Over time, the rays will darken to the shade of the surrounding regolith as the material is exposed to space weathering," the LROC team notes, which explains why such rays fade with age.
Documenting new craters matters for both science and safety. Measuring how often impacts occur and how craters degrade helps researchers reconstruct the Moon's recent history and refine models of impact rates. Practically, up-to-date maps of surface hazards are critical for mission planning: unexpected depressions, rough terrain, tricky illumination (deep shadows) and local seismic activity can all threaten landers and crews.
As nations prepare crewed returns to the lunar surface — including NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts near the Moon's south pole — every newly discovered "freckle" improves hazard maps and risk assessments, making future missions safer while underscoring how the lunar surface continues to change on human timescales.