Extensive Secondary Cratering From the InSight Sol 1034a Impact Event
Year: 2024
Type: article
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.
DOI: 10.1029/2024je008535
Institutions: Natural History Museum, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, Institute of Geophysics, Malin Space Science Systems (United States), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences, Université de Nantes, Nantes Université, Curtin University, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO)
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,880
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Discovery Eye Foundation, University of Arizona, University of Bern, Posture and Mobility Group, UK Space Agency, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, St.George Foundation, Australian Research Council, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Office of Operations
Awards: G1337917521, MArs Geophysical InSight
OpenAlex ID: W4405555142