New Impact Crater
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
New Impact Crater
ESP_015989_1835  Science Theme: Impact Processes
This small crater (approximately 7 meters, or 20 feet, in diameter) was created sometime within the last five years. We know this because we have enough images of Mars over the last decade that we can narrow down its formation date using "before" images where the crater did not appear.

We are able to discover these new craters because the dark area surrounding them is much larger than the crater itself. We can detect this larger dark spot with lower-resolution data sets from other instruments. Then when HiRISE follows up, the higher resolution image reveals the crater at the center of the dark spot, as well as details of the ejecta and surrounding area.

Studying new craters like these will tell us more about the current rate of impacts on Mars. A common technique for estimating the age of a given surface involves counting how many craters of each size are present on that surface. This will help us better understand results from that technique, and refine it to give more accurate ages.

Small impacts like these also represent a hazard to future exploration, both on Mars and the Moon. Imagine if one of the Martian rovers had been at this spot when this object blasted into the surface! This may be a very small crater on planetary scales, but it could still cause a lot of damage. On the Moon, where there is no atmosphere to provide protection from even the tiniest micrometeorite, the danger would be even higher. Knowing the rate of impacts like these will tell us how much shielding will be needed for future landers, rovers, and eventually human explorers.

Be sure to check out one of many more new craters HiRISE is discovering.

Written by: Ingrid Daubar  (14 April 2010)
 
Acquisition date
24 December 2009

Local Mars time
14:40

Latitude (centered)
3.401°

Longitude (East)
235.240°

Spacecraft altitude
264.6 km (164.5 miles)

Original image scale range
26.7 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~80 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
6.7°

Phase angle
46.8°

Solar incidence angle
41°, with the Sun about 49° above the horizon

Solar longitude
28.1°, Northern Spring

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  19.7°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (450MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (203MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (218MB)
non-map           (233MB)

IRB color
map projected  (68MB)
non-map           (218MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (128MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (122MB)

RGB color
non map           (205MB)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 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.