WASHINGTON: Nasa has spotted a small new crater on the Moon that was likely caused by a Russian probe crash landing on the surface around two weeks ago.

The finding was made by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) by comparing before and after images of the estimated impact point, provided by Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The Luna-25 probe crashed on Aug 19.

LRO, which has been in orbit over the Moon since 2009, took its most recent “before” image in June 2022.

This was compared to an image taken on Aug 24, 2023.

“Since this new crater is close to the Luna 25 estimated impact point, the LRO team concludes it is likely to be from that mission, rather than a natural impactor,” a Nasa statement said.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2023