Fresh Impact Craters on Mars

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team spotted and photographed in high-rez a cluster of very fresh impact craters:

enhanced-colour view

The dark spots in this enhanced-color infrared image are the recent impact craters that occurred in the Tharsis region between 2008 and 2014. These impact craters were first discovered by the Mars Context Camera (or CTX, also onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) as a cluster of dark spots. The meteoroid that formed these craters must have broken up upon atmospheric entry and fragmented into two larger masses along with several smaller fragments, spawning at least twenty or so smaller impact craters.

www.uahirise.org...

true-colour view


I love photos of relatively fresh craters on Mars and other space bodies, as it shows our Solar System to be a dynamic place where stuff is happening every day. This case is especially cool as it shows that the metoroid encountered lots of air resistance and exploded or disintegrated into many pieces before striking the ground. I imagine it would have been a spectacular sight if watched from the ground.

Also interesting to see that the bedrock below the light reddish coating on Mars can be so dark. I've mostly seen light-grey bedrock from Curiosity images:

(upclose photo of a drilled rock)


although it could be darker sand:


~~~

Here's another relatively fresh impact crater on Mars:

Besides saying "awesome", all I can say is "ouch."

a reply to: wildespace

That third picture seems odd...

A direct hole that looks as if the impact was from directly above (giving the appearance of a drill hole) but however what looks like debris splattered to only one side? (would that debris not be debris that would normally be seen from an object coming from an angle instead of directly straight above?)

Any explanations from our space/physics boffins for us uneducated plebs?

Warmest

Lags

a reply to: Lagomorphe

It is a drill hole.

From the Curiosity Rover.

a reply to: Lagomorphe

Yes, sorry I didn't specify. It's a close-up photo from the Curiosity rover after it drilled a hole in the ground.

Thanks Chad and Wild...

Warmest

Lags

a reply to: wildespace

Why is it that when I look at those pictures I get the urge to squeeze the pus out of them?

I hate pimples. Pimples must die.

Cool photos though!

It's a hole.

Wow...

a reply to: wildespace

sf though because you rock!

a reply to: wildespace

The cosmic shotgun found its mark!

What fantastic images! The darkness of the material beneath the surface is probably something to do with the surface material having been exposed to more discolouration as a result of sunlight exposure, than the material underneath it. These impacts though... beautiful.

I am really glad you shared these with us, wildespace. Thank you!

originally posted by: wildespace



(upclose photo of a drilled rock)

although it could be darker sand:

the drill hole in a slab of rock indicates the rock is composed of lighter colored minerals

the uncovered 'sand' might well be 'darker' because of possible moisture content ?? ...that possibility would change the whole site exploration selection process on the planet

a reply to: St Udio

Indeed.

If the darker colour is an indicator of moisture being present in some form, then that would absolutely change the way the next exploration of the Martian surface is conducted. Of course, it could just be that the top layer is bleached by the sun, what with the atmosphere being quite thin on Mars, providing therefore, not an insurmountable barrier to the sunlight.

Thanks lifeless rock for sucking up another lifeless rock so this one we inhabit doesn't also become lifeless.

Seriously though, is it me or have there been a lot of recent impacts across our little neighborhood of planets recently. Stay away from us and just make cool looking craters elsewhere please.

originally posted by: St Udio
the uncovered 'sand' might well be 'darker' because of possible moisture content ?? ...that possibility would change the whole site exploration selection process on the planet

No. I believe it has more to do with the sun "bleaching" the darker sand rather than any kind of evaporation.

@ St Udio and TrueBrit

It's neither. The dark sand is just basaltic sand, there's huge dunes of it in many places on Mars (including Curiosity's current location).



The light-toned coating over almost all of Mars is Iron Oxide (aka rust), nothing to do with bleaching by the Sun.

How big would those craters be do you reckon?

Would it be possible for a rover to explore them?

All those fresh craters are surrounded with ejecta from beneath the surface, much deeper than a rover's drill can achieve.

I'm no scientist in any sense of the word but if I were, I would be itching to get a rover to that area lol.

Perhaps the next rover they send could be designed to fly or hover so it can travel to other locations? A bit like a 'Transformer'-ish type of contraption.

Just thinking out loud. Cool pics op. S&F

a reply to: wildespace

Wow!

Fair enough! Those dunes though! I would love to have a go at those with a dune buggy of some sort. In actual fact, I would love to walk on them. Look at those amazing details in that shot!

MRO team just released this video, talking more about fresh craters: www.youtube.com...

New craters on Mars are easiest to locate in such dust-coated terrains, where they provide opportunistic "road cuts" that allow scientists to see beneath the dust blanket. (Audio: www.tregibbs.com. Black and white images are 5 km across; enhanced color images are less than 1 km.) www.uahirise.org...

Such craters are usually a few meters across. I've calculated that the largest of the bunch of craters in my original post is about 6 meters across.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: Lagomorphe

It is a drill hole.

From the Curiosity Rover.

That's either a really high res camera or an enormous rover.

originally posted by: Phage
Besides saying "awesome", all I can say is "ouch."

The other word that comes to mind is "splat", like a bug hitting the windshield.

Hey Phage, if a rock falls on Mars and no one is around to hear it, does it make any noise?