Tag

Craters

All articles tagged with #craters

science20 days ago•5 min saved

NASA Debris Knocks Up Five Fresh Martian Craters, Revealing a Fragile Surface

NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance mission left ballast masses and cruise-stage debris that punched five fresh craters on Mars, about 70 km northwest of Jezero crater. Using Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery and crater-modeling, scientists attributed the impacts to the ballast devices and debris, and found the Martian surface here to be far weaker than standard crater-scaling laws predict, with a cohesion around 7 kilopascals. The study adds to our understanding of Martian regolith and shows how spacecraft debris can serve as real-world impact experiments to inform future missions.

via ScienceAlert|

#craters #geophysics #mars

space2 months ago•12 min saved

Artemis II Extends Humans’ Farthest Reach by Design, While Proposing Lunar Crater Names

Artemis II extended humanity’s farthest distance from Earth to 252,756 miles by design, beating Apollo 13’s 248,655-mile record—which was set accidentally when an oxygen-tank explosion forced a Moon loop in 1970. The crew also proposed names for two craters near Orientale—Integrity and Carroll—with official naming to come from the International Astronomical Union.

via Space Daily|

#apollo-13 #artemis-ii #craters

science5 months ago•6 min saved

Ancient North Sea Impact Triggered a 330-Foot Megatsunami, Scientists Say

Seismic data and rock cuttings confirm the Silverpit Crater off Yorkshire formed 43–46 million years ago when a ~160-meter asteroid struck the shallow North Sea, vaporizing rock and water and spawning a tsunami over 100 meters tall; two shocked mineral grains in nearby samples settled the long-running debate and establish Silverpit as a rare marine impact crater.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#asteroid #craters #impact

space7 months ago•2 min saved

Mars Express Delivers High-Res 3D Crater Maps of Arabia Terra

ESA's Mars Express HRSC provides full-color, stereo 3D images of Mars at 10-meter resolution, with higher-detail glimpses (~2 meters) for select regions, revealing Arabia Terra’s dense cratered landscape and aiding topographic studies of the planet’s geology.

via PetaPixel|

#craters #esa #hrsc

travel1 year ago•6 min saved

Exploring Central Australia's Cosmic Craters

The article explores central Australia's cosmic craters, Henbury and Tnorala, formed by meteor impacts, highlighting their geological significance, cultural meanings, and the stunning desert scenery, encouraging visitors to experience this natural and cultural wonderland instead of space travel to Mars.

via The Guardian|

#australia #craters #impact-sites

science1 year ago•0 min saved

Deciphering the Moon's Surface: Craters or Bumps?

The article discusses a photograph of the moon's south pole taken by the Japanese company Ispace's robotic lander, highlighting how different viewers perceive the lunar surface as either craters or bumps, emphasizing the moon's pockmarked surface with craters.

via The New York Times|

#bumps #craters #ispace

space-exploration1 year ago•3 min saved

NASA's Artemis Mission Gains Insight from Moon's Circular Crater

New research suggests the moon's South Pole-Aitken basin, previously thought to be oval, is actually round, indicating a deeper impact. This finding, based on data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, could provide insights into the moon's early history and has implications for NASA's upcoming Artemis missions. The circular shape implies more evenly distributed debris, potentially allowing astronauts to study deep lunar materials. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the basin's formation and could aid future lunar exploration.

via Space.com|

#artemis #craters #lunar-history

space2 years ago•4 min saved

"Massive Asteroid Impact: 2 Billion Craters on Mars Revealed"

A giant asteroid impact on Mars 2.3 million years ago created a massive crater called Corinto and around two billion smaller individual craters across a 1,000-mile region. The impact, one of the biggest seen on Mars, left behind a vast field of destruction, with secondary craters ranging in size and shape. Data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was used to study the impact and its aftermath, revealing insights into the composition of the ejected material and the potential presence of water or ice at the impact site.

via Space.com|

#asteroid-impact #corinto #craters

space-science2 years ago•1 min saved

"Scientists Attribute Two Billion Mars Craters to Single Asteroid Impact"

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab have discovered that a single meteorite impact on Mars created a 2.3 million-year-old crater called Corinto, as well as billions of secondary craters across 540,000 square miles. The collision sent up a plume of rocks, triggering a chain reaction that added even more craters to the Martian surface. This research sheds light on complex geological processes on Mars and could aid in understanding how its landscapes and composition have changed over time, crucial for future human exploration of the planet.

via Futurism|

#asteroid #craters #geological-processes

science-and-environment2 years ago•2 min saved

"Solving the Mystery of Siberia's Giant Exploding Craters"

Scientists may have finally solved the mystery of the giant exploding craters in Siberia's permafrost, proposing a new theory that suggests the craters formed due to a "champagne effect" caused by the pressure from natural gas reserves trapped in the permafrost. This phenomenon, unique to Russia's northern Yamal and Gydan peninsulas, could be triggered by the melting of permafrost due to climate change, potentially releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases and contributing to a climate feedback loop. The researchers estimate that 1,900 billion tons of greenhouse gases are stored in the Arctic permafrost, raising concerns about growing emissions from thawing permafrost.

via Yahoo! Voices|

#climate-change #craters #natural-gas

space2 years ago•2 min saved

Chinese Rocket's Secret Payload Creates Double Crater on Moon

Researchers from the University of Arizona have identified the object responsible for creating double craters on the Moon's far side as the Long March 3C rocket body from China's 2014 Chang'e 5-T1 mission. The additional payload on the rocket, undisclosed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), is believed to have caused the double crater phenomenon. The researchers tracked the rocket's path and analyzed its movement and changes in reflected light to determine its identity. The incident highlights the growing problem of space junk and the need for careful tracking of objects in space.

via ScienceAlert|

#chinese-rocket #craters #lunar-surface

space3 years ago•3 min saved

Curiosity's Ingenious Detour to Uncover Enigmatic Crater Field

NASA's Curiosity Rover has successfully navigated a challenging 23-degree slope on its journey up Mount Sharp on Mars. The rover encountered wheel-sized rocks and slippery sand pits, but managed to overcome these obstacles with the help of its controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The rover reached the Jau region, a pit stop on its ascent, which is filled with dozens of small craters. Scientists are studying these craters to gain insights into Mars' past environment and the possibility of ancient life. Mount Sharp, the central peak of an impact crater, is composed of layers of sedimentary rock that were deposited billions of years ago, and researchers are eager to explore the potential for past habitability.

via Universe Today|

#craters #curiosity-rover #exploration

science-and-astronomy3 years ago•4 min saved

BepiColombo's Mercury flyby captures stunning new images.

The European Space Agency's BepiColombo probe made its third close flyby of Mercury, capturing images of the planet's surface riddled with craters, ancient volcanic ridges, and lava flows. The images also revealed a variety of ancient impact basins flooded with volcanic lavas during the first billion years of the planet's life. The spacecraft unfortunately couldn't take images during its closest approach, as it arrived at the planet from the night side. The BepiColombo mission comprises two orbiters that cruise through space stacked on top of each other, which means that some of the probes' instruments are hidden at the moment.

via Space.com|

#bepicolombo #craters #flyby