Scaling Relationships for Impact Basins on Mars

Abstract

Impact cratering is a common geological process in the Solar System, having played an important role in the formation and evolution of most planetary objects with solid surfaces [1,2]. It results in the formation of impact craters with varying morphology depending mainly on impact momentum and energy, and geological properties of the target [2,3]. Through comparison of numerical impact cratering simulations with available space exploration data, remote observations, and geophysical modelling, it is possible to establish constrains on some properties of the target body at the time of crater formation, similarly to what has been made for the Moon in recent years [4,5]. A planet’s crustal structure, internal structure, and thermal regime effect large crater morphology and can be further investigated using simulations. In this work, we performed numerical simulations of the formation of large impact craters (or impact basins) on Mars. We used the latest discoveries by the NASA InSight mission about the crust and mantle structure of the planet [6,7], and recent geophysical thermal models [8,9] to determine the most suitable target conditions at the time of impact. Here, we propose a preliminary set of impact scaling relationships for Mars’ basins, i.e., the relationships between impact conditions and formed impact basins, for a range of crustal thicknesses and geological epochs.