Brown University researchers are developing a new way to study what's under the surface of Mars
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'But we show that the size of the ejecta blanket around a crater is sensitive to subsurface properties as well. That gives us a new observable on the surface to help constrain materials present underground.'
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Scientists have long studied craters for indicators of
what may be below the surface of a planet. Craters can be affected by the 'strength of the subsurface, how porous it is and a host of other factors,' Brown officials said.
For this latest research, however, Aleksandra Sokolowska, a UKRI fellow at Imperial College London who performed the study while a postdoctoral researcher at Brown, looked to glean more information from crater ejecta in particular, relying on computer simulations that capture the 'physics of planetary impacts' co-developed by a co-author of the study, Gareth Collins, a professor at Imperial College London.
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The simulations allowed Sokolowska to vary the characteristics of subsurface material – from solid bedrock to glacial deposits and sediments such those typically found in a buried lake bed – and to observe how each could impact how far ejected debris lands when craters are formed, according to university officials.
In addition to the simulation, the researchers analyzed two fresh impact craters on Mars, which, based on other data, they knew were located over solid bedrock and some subsurface ice, officials said.
'Consistent with model predictions, the crater on the icy subsurface had a much smaller ejecta blanket than the one on bedrock,' Brown officials said. 'The findings help confirm that differences in ejecta radius are detectable and reflect known subsurface properties.'
According to researchers, the new method could be helpful in ongoing and upcoming spacecraft missions, including in February 2026, when the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft is set to arrive at Dimorphos 'an asteroid that NASA hit with a projectile several years ago to test the possibility of deflecting asteroids that could be headed for Earth.' Hera will work to learn more about the asteroid's interior.
Sokolowska said she is now working to turn 'this proof-of concept work into a tool.'
'The differences in ejecta radius can be quite large, and we predict that they could be measured from orbit with the HiRISE camera onboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter,' Sokolowska said. 'Once the method is thoroughly tested, it could become a promising new tool for investigating subsurface properties.'
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
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