Planet Mars: A New Impact Event | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: A New Impact Event | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

This impact disturbed dust over an area more than two kilometers wide, large enough to be visible in Mars Color Imager (MARCI) daily global images. The largest new crater is about 35 meters in diameter, making it the about the 16th largest new crater found on Mars. By “new crater” we mean that its formation is documented by before and after images, usually acquired by MRO’s Context Camera. There are many other new craters formed up to a kilometer away from the biggest crater. These appear unusual for secondary craters produced by the main 35-meter crater, and are probably more like primary craters resulting from fragmentation of the bolide high in the Martian atmosphere.

Location:

Latitude (centered)

37.804°

Longitude (East)

44.787°

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Tre's website: www.tregibbs.com

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Jan 26, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Bolide #ImpactCrater #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MRO #HiRISE #Spacecraft #JPL #Caltech #UA #UniversityOfArizona #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #HD #Video