Meteorites as big as basketballs bombard Mars almost every day, at a rate five times greater than previously estimated. The discovery, published in the journal Nature Astronomyis the result of the work of a research group led by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and Imperial College London.
New data from the InSight mission
The estimate is based on the seismic data recorded during impacts by NASA’s InSight mission, which concluded in December 2022. These data provide a new tool for calculating the rate of impacts on the Red Planet, a critical metric for safely planning future missions, both robotic and human.
The researchers, led by Géraldine Zenhäusern of ETH and Natalia Wójcicka of Imperial College, distinguished earthquakes generated by falling meteorites because they are much shorter than those of tectonic origin. While a normal magnitude 3 earthquake on Mars lasts several seconds, an impact of the same magnitude lasts only 0.2 seconds or less, due to the high speed of the collision. Using these observations, scientists have estimated that Mars is hit by between 280 and 360 meteorites each year.
Impacts and Craters: Why They Matter
These impacts generate craters at least 8 meters wide almost every day, while larger craters, with diameters up to 30 meters, form about once a month. Hypervelocity impacts cause explosion zones that are easily 100 times larger than the crater. Knowing the exact number of impacts is crucial for the safety of future missions. In addition, seismic data can help reconstruct the geological history and evolution of the planet.
Natalia Wójcicka says:
“You could think of seismic data as a kind of cosmic clock to help us date the surfaces of Mars and, perhaps, in the future, other planets in the Solar System.”
And you, what do you think the InSight mission could reveal about Mars and other planets? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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