Meteoroid impact on the Moon

Just recently, NASA found out, during an examination of video material, that a relatively large explosion took place on the Moon on 17th March 2013, caused by the impact of a meteoroid. This was an approximately 15 inches large and 88 pounds heavy chunk, which hit the Moon’s surface with 56,000 mph. The explosive power is equivalent to 5 tons of TNT. The flash of light which lit up during the impact in the »Mare Imbrium«, was so bright that it was visible with the naked eye from Earth.

Initially, 15 inches may not sound incredibly big or threatening. But one has to realize, it is the speed, which makes such an object so dangerous. In space travel, the so called micrometeoroids with the size of a few millimeters, can cause tremendous damage to spacecrafts.

There has to be an incredibly vast amount of space up there in space that all those scattered flying bodies (606,000 asteroids in the solar system alone) do not cause more damage. Let’s hope that we will continue to be spared. The Moon keeps calm …