In a stunning discovery, a group of scientists working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California found that a single meteorite led to the creation of two billion craters on the Martian surface.
Along with the 2.3 million-year-old crater, known as Corinto, which is spread over the 8.6 miles surface of the planet, the asteroid also led to the creation of several billion secondary craters after it hit the Martian Surface and sent up a huge plume of rocks, reported New Scientist.
A chain reaction was triggered by these rocks and even more craters were added as they came crashing down.
After analysing the satellite images, JPL’s Matthew Golombek and his teammates tried to get an idea of the number of craters which may have been triggered by the blast. They found that Corinto had between 1.3 and 3 billion “secondaries,” and each of them was at least 33 feet apart from the other.
“Corinto is a fresh impact crater in Elysium Panitia that produced one of the most extensive systems of…secondary craters on Mars,” wrote the researchers, in the study, which was released at the conference.
The study can help scientists understand complex geological processes which take place on the Martian surface and how its composition and landscapes have changed over time.
Falling Rocks
The area, which has been pockmarked by billions of craters, is very massive and spreads out in 540,000 square miles — which coincidentally also includes NASA’s InSight Mars lander landing spot.
“The observed differences…with distance from the crater likely result from variations in impact velocity and size of ejecta,” said the researchers, in the study.
“Quantifying the number of secondaries is important to better understand how a relatively small crater could possibly eject that much material during the cratering process,” said Golombek, while speaking to New Scientist.
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Meanwhile, more recent meteorite impacts have also helped scientists make fascinating discoveries.
In 2022, a massive marsquake was detected by InSight which was found to be the result of one of the biggest observed meteors which is said to have hit Mars. The meteors’ impact was said to be so powerful that it blasted up chunks of underground ice.
(With inputs from agencies)
