Learn about the discovery of a brand new crater on Mars and how it could affect the atmosphere on The Red Planet.
What's the new space, you ask? An asteroid crashed on the surface of Mars, making a visibly large crater as giant as 50 feet deep and 16 meters wide. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) which has been keeping a close eye on its surface for about 13 years, spotted the depression and immediately captured the photograph with its high-resolution lenses.
The official image was produced to astronomers on 6th June that shows a black and white bruise on the bare landscape of the Martian ground. It can be estimated by researchers that the exact formation of the hit was around September 2016- February 2019.
In the 13 years of MRO hovering to snap imageries of the planet, this picture stirred up observers in the University of Arizona as the basin is relatively unique and can be listed as a significant change witnessed in the ground.
Staff scientist, Veronica Bray asserted that the asteroid was about 5 feet high and was small enough to have burst into tiny pieces or corroded in itself with the friction generated. But due to the low density of the Martian atmosphere, the rock must have shattered to create chains of broken pieces to hit the terrain with intense force.
The surface of the Martian sphere is an ever-shifting plain. The dusty sand dunes, whirling storms make it a dynamic realm. The colour of the crater is what makes it even more astonishing.
The hole is composed of a dark province where the dust is moved out from the exterior. Under it is a layer of basaltic rock. The bluish tint keeps the experts guessing if that indicates the presence of ice. The region of the blast is near the relatively warmer equator region of Mars.
If CRISM does a comprehensive image cover of the area, there might be a diverse finding of the minerals the region holds. The coolant running the instrument exhausted itself long back, making the image resolution lower.
Mars researchers Peter Grindrod, who is an ExoMars researcher, compare the photos available and the map created of the terrain and says this was in every way a significant change in comparison to earlier discoveries.
With rovers exploring the Martian atmosphere, the new search has been to look for mineral-rich soil like clay and hematite to see if it is habitable for any life form to exist.
