Extensive Secondary Cratering From the InSight Sol 1034a Impact Event
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- Natural History Museum London UK
- Department of Earth Environmental and Planetary Sciences Brown University Providence RI USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Johns Hopkins University Baltimore MD USA
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering Imperial College London London UK
- Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Malin Space Science Systems San Diego CA USA
- Université Paris Cité Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris Paris France, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique Université de Nantes Nantes France
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research Curtin University Perth WA Australia, Space Science and Technology Centre Curtin University Perth WA Australia
- Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace SUPAERO Toulouse France
- Institut für Geophysik, ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
Abstract Impact cratering is one of the fundamental processes throughout the history of the Solar System. The formation of new impact craters on planetary bodies has been observed with repeat images from orbiting satellites. However, the time gap between images is often large enough to preclude detailed analysis of smaller‐scale features such as secondary impact craters, which are often removed or buried over a short time period. Here we use a seismic event detected on Mars by the NASA InSight mission to investigate secondary cratering at a new impact crater. We strengthen the case that the seismic event that occurred on Sol 1034 (S1034a) is the result of a new impact cratering event. Using the exact timing of this event from InSight, we investigated the resulting new impact crater in orbital image data. The S1034a impact crater is approximately 9 m in diameter but is responsible for over 900 secondary impact events in the form of low albedo spots that are located at distances of up to almost 7 km from the primary crater. We suggest that the low albedo spots formed from relatively low energy ejecta, with individual ejecta block velocities less than 200 m s −1 . We estimate that the low albedo spots, the main evidence of secondary impact processes at this new impact event, fade within 200–300 days after formation.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 2482597
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 129; ISSN 2169-9097
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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