T46 Impact Cratering in Space and Time

Sunday, 9 October 2022
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
501

SEISMOLOGICAL LOCATION AND ORBITAL IMAGING OF NEWLY FORMED CRATERS ON MARS

Paper number: T46-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:40 PM – 3:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

A key science objective of the NASA InSight mission is to use seismic waves generated by meteoroid impact events to study the interior of Mars. When combined with orbital imaging of a newly formed impact crater, an impact-generated seismic event can provide an independently determined and exactly measured source location and event energy, which is invaluable for constraining the internal structure of Mars. Here we report on multiple InSight observations of seismic and acoustic waves excited from a suite of meteoroid impact events on Mars. These impact events generated transient acoustic waves during atmospheric entry, impact with the ground, and seismic waves upon impact. We used the arrival times and polarizations of the seismic and acoustic waves to estimate the impact locations, which were subsequently confirmed by orbital images of the estimated impact locations. This new catalog of observations of the crater geometries and measurements of the released seismic energy were then used to verify and improve regional crustal models, ground-truth models of distance-amplitude scaling relationships for impacts at Mars, and confirm the link between impactor momentum and estimated seismic moment. This effort exemplifies the high science return potential of linked mission assets in orbit and on the ground, and demonstrates the value of planetary seismology in understanding the impact cratering process throughout the Solar System.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-381803

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