NASA Scientists Baffled by Mystery Rocket That Crashed Into Moon

By Aaron Perine

NASA scientists are confused by a weird rocket that crashed into the Moon. Earlier this year, they discovered a crater containing a "mystery rocket body." That dent in the lunar body was revealed to be a "double crater" in a new press release from NASA. This discovery leads to a few questions. Chiefly among them is: What nation launched this rocket and how has it managed to allude these scientists for months now? June 24 saw NASA post images of the discovery to their site, but no country has stepped forward to accept responsibility. Late last year, some astronomers were expecting this kind of event because they got eyes on the strange rocket way ahead of time. March 4 is the reported day when it finally made contact with the Moon. Check out some of the images for yourself down below.

In the release, the agency released some findings, "Astronomers discovered a rocket body heading toward a lunar collision late last year. Impact occurred March 4, with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later spotting the resulting crater. Surprisingly the crater is actually two craters, an eastern crater (18-meter diameter, about 19.5 yards) superimposed on a western crater (16-meter diameter, about 17.5 yards)."

The NASA 360 account said, "After a rocket body impacted the Moon last year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to snap a surprising view of the impact site. Unexpectedly, the crater is actually two craters and may indicate that the rocket body had large masses at each end."

"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," they continued. "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."

Here's how NASA describes the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: "As our nearest neighbor, the moon is a natural laboratory for investigating fundamental questions about the origin and evolution of the Earth and the solar system. With the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), NASA has returned to the moon, enabling new discoveries and bringing the moon back into the public eye.

"LRO is a robotic mission that set out to map the moon's surface and, after a year of exploration, was extended with a unique set of science objectives," they added. "LRO observations have enabled numerous groundbreaking discoveries, creating a new picture of the moon as a dynamic and complex body. These developments have set up a scientific framework through which to challenge and improve our understanding of processes throughout the solar system."

What do you think hit the moon? Let us know down in the comments!

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