Overview
- The astronauts reported brief white-to-blue flashes on the Moon’s far side that they identified as meteorite impacts during the flyby.
- Most sightings came when a solar eclipse left the far side dark, creating stark contrast that made millisecond flashes visible to the naked eye.
- NASA tallied six events from the crew’s callouts, but mission cameras did not capture them because the exposures were too slow.
- Ground teams are now comparing the crew’s timing and rough locations with data from a lunar-orbiting satellite to corroborate the impacts.
- Scientists say the observations can tighten estimates of how often small rocks hit the Moon and inform shielding and layout choices for future suits, habitats, and bases.