NASA's InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquak on Dec. 24 last year.But scientists
When scientists looked at images of Mars before andlater, taken by NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), they spotted a new gaping crater. Scientists have determined that the earthquake occurred as a result of a meteorite impact.
The scientists published their findings in the journal Science.
The Mars Ethnometeorite Crater was discovered using a black-and-white contextual camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The camera took these images before and after the collision, which occurred on December 24, 2021, in a region of Mars called Amazonis Planitia. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The meteoroid is estimated to have measured between 5 and 12meters - it is small enough to burn up in the atmosphere of the Earth, but not in the thin atmosphere of Mars, the density of which is only 1% of the density of our planet. The impact in an area called the Amazon Plain (Amazonis Planitia) created a crater approximately 150 m across and 21 m deep.
Part of the rock ejected as a result of the impact flew to a distance of 37 km.
Images and seismic data showed thatit is one of the largest craters ever observed in the solar system. There are many larger craters on the Red Planet, but they are much older than any mission to Mars.
"It's unprecedented to discover a new impactthis size,” explains Ingrid Daubar of Brown University, who leads the InSight task force. “This is an exciting moment in geological history, and we have witnessed it.”
In recent months, InSight's power has sharplydecreased due to dust settling on solar panels. The spacecraft is expected to stop within the next six weeks, ending the science mission.
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