Lunar craters range from tiny pits to massive basins. They record billions of years of collisions with asteroids and comets. Crater density helps estimate surface age. Ejecta blankets and ray systems preserve impact history. Large basins shaped maria formation. Studying craters informs models of planetary bombardment. They serve as natural laboratories for impact physics. Lunar craters are less eroded than Earth’s due to lack of atmosphere.
It matters because craters are time capsules revealing solar system evolution.
It also guides impact risk assessment for Earth and other planets. Lunar data calibrates impact frequency models.
Some craters are over 2,500 km across.
NASA [nasa.gov]