Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Recent findings from the InSight mission reveal that Mars experiences 280 to 360 significant meteorite impacts annually, far exceeding previous estimates based on satellite imagery. This seismic approach offers a new way to date Martian and other planetary surfaces. Credit: NASA / JPL – Caltech’s InSight mission have uncovered that Mars is subjected to far more meteorite impacts than previously thought, with annual rates ranging from 280 to 360 significant impacts.
These craters were formed by a September 5, 2021, meteoroid impact on Mars, the first to be detected by NASA’s InSight. Taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, this enhanced-color image highlights the dust and soil disturbed by the impact in blue in order to make details more visible to the human eye.
To calculate planetary age in this way, scientists have traditionally used models based on craters on the Moon to predict the rate of meteorite impacts of different sizes over time. To apply these models to Mars, they need to be adjusted for how the atmosphere might stop smallest impactors from hitting the surface and Mars’s different size and position in the Solar System.
The researchers found the rate of meteoroid impacts to be higher than previously estimated by looking at freshly formed craters captured by satellite images and in agreement with extrapolating data from craters on the Moon’s surface. Using this new method for detecting impacts, the researchers found many more impact events than predicted by satellite imaging, particularly for small impacts that produce craters only a few meters across.
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