Asteroids on Mars created craters on the Red Planet
science :A new analysis of data collected by seismometers on Mars has highlighted that space rocks are hitting Mars more frequently than previously thought. A team of scientists led by ETH Zurich and Imperial College London has used seismic data to detect a meteorite impact on Mars that was never known before.
According to their new findings, about 280 to 360 meteorites hit the planet each year and create craters with a diameter greater than 8 metres (about 26 feet).”This rate was about five times higher than the number estimated from orbital imagery alone. Aligned with orbital imagery, our findings demonstrate that seismology is an excellent tool for measuring impact rates,” said study co-leader Geraldine Zenhaeusern.
This new analysis of data collected by seismometers on Mars has reinforced that space rocks are hitting Mars more frequently than previously thought.
Based on the number of nearby impact-related shocks detected by the Mars InSight lander, scientists estimated that the planet must have been hit by basketball-sized rocks almost every day.
“This rate was about five times higher than the number estimated from orbital images alone,” said co-lead author Geraldine Zenhausern of ETH Zurich and a planetary scientist in Switzerland.
“Aligned with orbital images, our findings demonstrate that seismology is an excellent tool for measuring impact rates,” she added. The speed at which craters form on a planet’s surface helps us understand how old that surface is.
Surfaces with more craters are believed to be older than those with fewer craters. “By using seismic data to better understand how often meteoroids hit Mars and how its surface changes from these impacts, we can start to piece together a timeline of the Red Planet’s geological history and evolution,” said Natalia Wojcicki, a planetary scientist at Imperial College London and co-lead author.
“You can think of it as a kind of ‘cosmic clock’ that will help us date the surfaces of Mars, and potentially, in the long run, help date other planets in the solar system,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mars is located close to the asteroid belt, which lies between its orbit and Jupiter’s orbit, and therefore, there are lots of rocks around it, which could lead to a high impact rate.
“While the new craters are best seen in flat and dusty areas, where they really stand out, this type of terrain covers less than half of the surface of Mars,” Zenhausern said. “However, the sensitive InSight seismometer will be able to detect the lander’s damage,” he added.
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Asteroids on Mars created craters on the Red Planet
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Asteroids on Mars created craters on the Red Planet
