Predictions for the LCROSS mission

Abstract— We describe the results of a variety of model calculations for predictions of observable results of the LCROSS mission to be launched in 2009. Several models covering different aspects of the event are described along with their results. Our aim is to bracket the range of expected results and produce a useful guide for mission planning. In this paper, we focus on several different questions, which are modeled by different methods. The questions include the size of impact crater, the mass, velocity, and visibility of impact ejecta, and the mass and temperature of the initial vapor plume. The mass and velocity profiles of the ejecta are of primary interest, as the ejecta will be the main target of the S‐S/C observations. In particular, we focus on such quantities as the amount of mass that reaches various heights. A height of 2 km above the target is of special interest, as we expect that the EDUS impact will take place on the floor of a moderate‐sized crater ?30 km in diameter, with a rim height of 1–2 km. The impact ejecta must rise above the crater rim at the target site in order to scatter sunlight and become visible to the detectors aboard the S‐S/C. We start with a brief discussion of crater scaling relationships as applied to the impact of the EDUS second stage and resulting estimated crater diameter and ejecta mass. Next we describe results from the RAGE hydrocode as applied to modeling the short time scale (t 0.1 s) thermal plume that is expected to occur immediately after the impact. We present results from several large‐scale smooth‐particle hydrodynamics (SPH) calculations, along with results from a ZEUS‐MP hydrocode model of the crater formation and ejecta mass‐velocity distribution. We finish with two semi‐analytic models, the first being a Monte Carlo model of the distribution of expected ejecta, based on scaling models using a plausible range of crater and ejecta parameters, and the second being a simple model of observational predictions for the shepherding spacecraft (S‐S/C) that will follow the impact for several minutes until its own impact into the lunar surface. For the initial thermal plume, we predict an initial expansion velocity of ?7 km s^?1, and a maximum temperature of ?1200 K. Scaling relations for crater formation and the SPH calculation predict a crater with a diameter of ?15 m, a total ejecta mass of ?10⁶kg, with ?10⁴kg reaching an altitude of 2 km above the target. Both the SPH and ZEUS‐MP calculations predict a maximum ejecta velocity of ?1 km s^?1. The semi‐analytic Monte Carlo calculations produce more conservative estimates (by a factor of ?5) for ejecta at 2 km, but with a large dispersion in possible results.     

Numerical simulations of very large impacts on the Earth

Vertical impacts on the Earth of asteroids 500-3000 km in diameter at 15 km/s have been numerically modelled using the hydrodynamic SOVA code. This code has been modified for the spherical system of coordinates well suited for simulations of very large impacts when the entire Earth is involved in motion. The simulations include cratering process, upward motion of deep mantle layers, fall of ejecta on the Earth, escape of matter to space, and formation of rock vapour atmospheres. The calculations were made for the period preceding disappearance of rock vapour atmospheres caused by radiation several years after the largest impacts. For very large vertical impacts at 15 km/s, escaping masses proved to be negligibly small. Quantities of kinetic, internal, potential, and radiated away energies are obtained as functions of time and space. After the impacts, a global layer of condensed ejecta covers the whole of the Earth's surface and the ejecta energy is sufficient to vaporise an ocean 3 km deep. The mass of rock vapour atmosphere is 10-23% of the impactor mass. This atmosphere has a greater mass than the water atmosphere if impactor is 2000 km in diameter or larger.     

Ejection behavior characteristics in experimental cratering in sandstone targets

Abstract– Within the frame of the MEMIN research unit (Multidisciplinary Experimental and Numerical Impact Research Network), impact experiments on sandstone targets were carried out to systematically study the influence of projectile mass, velocity, and target water saturation on the cratering and ejection processes. The projectiles were accelerated with two‐stage light‐gas guns (Ernst‐Mach‐Institute) onto fine‐grained targets (Seeberger sandstone) with about 23% porosity. Collection of the ejecta on custom‐designed catchers allowed determination of particle shape, size distribution, ejection angle, and microstructures. Mapping of the ejecta imprints on the catcher surface enabled linking of the different patterns to ejection stages observed on high‐speed videos. The increase in projectile mass from 0.067 to 7.1 g correlates with an increase in the total ejected mass; ejecta angles, however, are similar in range for all experiments. The increase in projectile velocity from 2.5 to 5.1 km s^?1 correlates with a total ejecta mass increase as well as in an increase in comminution efficiency, and a widening of the ejecta cone. A higher degree of water saturation of the target yields an increase in total ejecta mass up to 400% with respect to dry targets, higher ejecta velocity, and a steeper cone. These data, in turn, suggest that the reduced impedance contrast between the quartz grains of the target and the pores plays a primary role in the ejecta mass increase, while vaporization of water determines the ejecta behavior concerning ejecta velocity and particle distribution.     

Impact ejecta exceeding lunar escape velocity

Microrater frequencies caused by fast (? 3 km s^?1) ejecta have been determined using secondary targets in impact experiments. A primary projectile (steel sphere, diam 1.58 mm, mass 1.64 × 10^?2 g) was shot in Duran glass with a velocity of 4.1 km s^?1 by means of a light gas gun. The angular distribution of the secondary crater number densities shows a primary maximum around 25°, and a secondary maximum at about 60° from the primary target surface. The fraction of mass ejected at velocities of ? 3 km s^?1 is only a factor of 7.5 × 10^?5 of the primary projectile mass. A conservative calculation shows that the contribution of secondary microcraters (caused by fast ejecta) to primary microcrater densities on lunar rock surfaces (caused by interplanetary particles) is on the statistical average below 1% for any lunar surface orientation. Calculation of the interplanetary dust flux enhancement caused by Moon ejecta turned out to be in good agreement with Lunar Explorer 35in situ measurements.     

X-ray Ejecta,White-Light CMEs and a Coronal Shock Wave

We report on a coronal shock wave inferred from the metric type II burst of 13 January 1996. To identify the shock driver, we examined mass motions in the form of X-ray ejecta and white-light coronal mass ejections (CMEs). None of the ejections could be considered fast (> 400 km s^–1) events. In white light, two CMEs occurred in quick succession, with the first one associated with X-ray ejecta near the solar surface. The second CME started at an unusually large height in the corona and carried a dark void in it. The first CME decelerated and stalled while the second one accelerated, both in the coronagraph field of view. We identify the X-ray ejecta to be the driver of the coronal shock inferred from metric type II burst. The shock speed reported in the Solar Geophysical Data (1000–2000 km s^–1) seems to be extremely large compared to the speeds inferred from X-ray and white-light observations. We suggest that the MHD fast-mode speed in the inner corona could be low enough that the X-ray ejecta is supermagnetosonic and hence can drive a shock to produce the type II burst.     

Impact and explosion crater ejecta,fragment size,and velocity

A model was developed for the mass distribution of fragments that are ejected at a given velocity for impact and explosion craters. The model is semiempirical in nature and is derived from (1) numerical calculations of cratering and the resultant mass versus ejection velocity, (2) observed ejecta blanket particle size distributions, (3) an empirical relationships between maximum ejecta fragment size and crater diameter, (4) measurements of maximum ejecta size versus ejecta velocity, and (5) an assumption on the functional form for the distribution of fragments ejected at a given velocity. This model implies that for planetary impacts into competent rock, the distribution of fragments ejected at a given velocity is broad; e.g., 68% of the mass of the ejecta at a given velocity contains fragments having a mass less than 0.1 times a mass of the largest fragment moving at that velocity. Using this model, we have calculated the largest fragment that can be ejected from asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and Earth as a function of crater diameter. The model is unfortunately dependent on the size-dependent ejection velocity limit for which only limited data are presently available from photography of high explosive-induced rock ejecta. Upon formation of a 50-km-diameter crater on an atmosphereless planet having the planetary gravity and radius of the Moon, Mars, and Earth, fragments having a maximum mean diameter of ≈30, 22, and 17 m could be launched to escape velocity in the ejecta cloud. In addition, we have calculated the internal energy of ejecta versus ejecta velocity. The internal energy of fragments having velocities exceeding the escape velocity of the moon (～2.4 km/sec) will exceed the energy required for incipient melting for solid silicates and thus, the fragments ejected from Mars and the Earth would be melted.     

Ejecta formation and crater development of the Mjølnir impact

Abstract— Crater‐ejecta correlation is an important element in the analysis of crater formation and its influence on the geological evolution. In this study, both the ejecta distribution and the internal crater development of the Jurassic/Cretaceous Mjølnir crater (40 km in diameter; located in the Barents Sea) are investigated through numerical simulations. The simulations show a highly asymmetrical ejecta distribution, and underscore the importance of a layer of surface water in ejecta distribution. As expected, the ejecta asymmetry increases as the angle of impact decreases. The simulation also displays an uneven aerial distribution of ejecta. The generation of the central high is a crucial part of crater formation. In this study, peak generation is shown to have a skewed development, from approximately 50–90 sec after impact, when the peak reaches its maximum height of 1‐1.5 km. During this stage, the peak crest is moved about 5 km from an uprange to a downrange position, ending with a final central position which has a symmetrical appearance that contrasts with its asymmetrical development.     

Modeling the 2.7?km in Diameter, Shallow Marine Ritland Impact Structure

The newly discovered Ritland impact structure (2.7?km in diameter) has been modeled by numerical simulation, based on detailed field information input. The numerical model applies the SOVA multi-material hydrocode, which uses the ANEOS equation of state for granite, describing thermodynamical properties of target and projectile material. The model displays crater formation and possible ejecta distribution that strongly supports a 100?m or less water depth at the time of impact. According to the simulations resurge processes and basinal syn- and postimpact sedimentation are highly dependent on water depth; in more than 100?m of water depth, much more powerful resurge processes are generated than at water depths shallower than 100?m (the Ritland case). In Ritland the 100?m high (modeled) crater rim formed a barrier and severely reduced the resurge processes. In the case of deeper water, powerful resurge processes, tsunami wave generations and related currents could have triggered even more violent crater fill sedimentation. The presented model demonstrates the importance of understanding the interactions between water layer and both syn-impact crater fill and ejecta distribution. According to the presented simulations ejecta blocks up to 10?m in diameter could be transported up to about 5?km outside the crater rim.     

Emplacement of Fahrenheit craterejecta at the luna-24 site

The Luna-24 site is situated in Mare Crisium at a range of 18.4 km from Fahrenheit, an Eratosthenian-aged crater 6.4 km in diameter. Fahrenheit's ejecta deposits have been degraded to such an extent that secondary craters and rays cannot be unambiguously identified in the vicinity of the Luna-24 site. On the basis of an analogy between Fahrenheit and Lichtenberg B (a much younger crater of comparable size located in northern Oceanus Procellarum) Fahrenheit ejecta deposits near the sample site are inferred to have consisted of secondary crater clusters, subradially aligned secondary crater chains, and lineated terrain furrowed by fine-scale radial grooves. At the range of the Luna-24 site more than 80% of the mare surface should have been morphologically disturbed by the ballistic deposition of Fahrenheit ejecta. Blocks and fragment clusters of primary Fahrenheit ejecta ranging up to 5–20 m in diameter are inferred to have impacted the local surface at velocities of 165–230 m s^–1 forming secondary craters ranging up to 100 m in diameter. The maximum depth of excavation of primary Fahrenheit ejecta deposited near the sample site is estimated to be at least 100 m. Primary Fahrenheit ejecta is expected to constitute a substantial fraction of the exterior deposits emplaced at the range of the Luna-24 site. Microgabbro and monomineralic fragments discovered in the Luna-24 drill core may have been derived from gabbroic rocks transported to the sample site by the Fahrenheit cratering event. This hypothesis is consistent with the widespread occurrence and characteristics of Fahrenheit ejecta anticipated in the vicinity of the Luan-24 site. Current interpretations of the drill core sample suggest that the Luna-24 regolith was deposited in its present configuration sometime during the last 0.3 AE implying that at least one local cratering event has occurred since the emplacement of Fahrenheit ejecta 2.0±0.5 AE ago.     

Numerical simulation of high-velocity ejecta following comet and asteroid impacts: Preliminary results

The influence of different projectile and target characteristics on the mass and velocity of high-velocity (>1 km/s) ejecta from impact craters is investigated numerically. The problem of how the computation accuracy affects the resulting ejection velocity distribution is considered.     

Crater geometry and ejecta thickness of the Martian impact crater Tooting

Abstract— We use Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topographic data and Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible (VIS) images to study the cavity and the ejecta blanket of a very fresh Martian impact crater ?29 km in diameter, with the provisional International Astronomical Union (IAU) name Tooting crater. This crater is very young, as demonstrated by the large depth/diameter ratio (0.065), impact melt preserved on the walls and floor, an extensive secondary crater field, and only 13 superposed impact craters (all 54 to 234 meters in diameter) on the ?8120 km² ejecta blanket. Because the pre‐impact terrain was essentially flat, we can measure the volume of the crater cavity and ejecta deposits. Tooting crater has a rim height that has >500 m variation around the rim crest and a very large central peak (1052 m high and >9 km wide). Crater cavity volume (i.e., volume below the pre‐impact terrain) is ?380 km³ the volume of materials above the pre‐impact terrain is ?425 km³. The ejecta thickness is often very thin (<20 m) throughout much of the ejecta blanket. There is a pronounced asymmetry in the ejecta blanket, suggestive of an oblique impact, which has resulted in up to ?100 m of additional ejecta thickness being deposited down‐range compared to the up‐range value at the same radial distance from the rim crest. Distal ramparts are 60 to 125 m high, comparable to the heights of ramparts measured at other multi‐layered ejecta craters. Tooting crater serves as a fresh end‐member for the large impact craters on Mars formed in volcanic materials, and as such may be useful for comparison to fresh craters in other target materials.     

Pedestal craters on Ganymede

The high-resolution Voyager images of Ganymede show a class of fresh craters 6–89 km in diameter which is distinguished by an ejecta blanket similar to those seen for some types of Martian craters. One hundred and eighty-five were identified and studied for trends with respect to latitude, longitude, and terrain type. No correlation of the ratio of ejecta diameter to crater diameter was found as a function of latitude or longitude, and there is only a suggestion of a trend in this ratio with respect to major terrain types. Central peak frequency is greatest for the smaller crater diameters. Central pit occurrence dominates central peak occurrence at crater diameters ?35 km. We conclude that the ejecta morphology probably results from impact into an icy target. The question of whether atmospheric ejecta-particle drag contributes to ejecta blanket morphologies on planets with an atmospheric cannot be resolved entirely from the Voyager images. The image resolution is insufficient to show diagnostic flow features on the ejecta, if they exist, or to detect evidence of any other ejecta deposits which would lie beyond the pedestal, predicted by some researchers to exist only on bodies with an atmosphere.     

Distribution of ejecta from small impact craters

The present study focuses both on the influence of impact scale on ejecta expansion and on specific features of ejecta deposits around relatively small craters (i.e., those a few kilometers in width). The numerical model is based on the SOVA multimaterial multidimensional hydrocode, considering subaerial vertical impacts only, applying a 2‐D version of the code to projectiles of 100, 300, and 1000 m diameter. Ejecta can roughly be divided into two categories: “ballistic” ejecta and “convective” ejecta; the ballistic ejecta are the ejecta with which the air interacts only slightly, while the convective ejecta motion is entirely defined by the air flow. The degree of particle/air interaction can be defined by the time/length of particle travel before deceleration. Ejecta size‐distributions for the impacts modeled can be described by the same power law, but the size of maximum fragment increases with scale. There is no qualitative difference between the 100 m diameter projectile case and the 300 m diameter projectile impact. In both cases, fine ejecta decelerate in the air at a small distance from launching point and then rise to the stratosphere by air flows induced by the impacts. In the 1000 m‐scale impact, the mass of ejecta is so large that it moves the atmosphere itself to high altitudes. Thus, the atmosphere cannot decelerate even the fine ejecta and they consequently expand to the rarefied upper atmosphere. In the upper atmosphere, even fine ejecta move more or less ballistically and therefore may travel to high altitudes.     

Observations of Martian layered ejecta craters and constraints on their formation mechanisms

The formation mechanism of layered ejecta craters on Mars has remained a topic of intense debate since their discovery. In this study, we perform a global morphological analysis of Martian layered ejecta craters using Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) images and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The study focuses on the ejecta morphologies and well‐defined distal rampart characteristics associated with 9945 layered ejecta craters with a diameter greater than 1.5 km distributed across the entire Martian surface. Data analysis based on the new database provides new information on the distribution and morphological details of the three major layered ejecta morphologies (single layer ejecta [SLE], double layer ejecta [DLE], and multiple layer ejecta [MLE]). Global analysis is applied to the latitudinal distribution of characteristic parameters, including the ejecta mobility, lobateness values, and onset diameter. Our survey of the distribution and characteristics of layered ejecta craters reveals that strong correlations exist between ejecta mobility and latitude, and there is a latitudinal dependence of onset diameter. Our study of Martian layered ejecta craters provides more detailed information and insights of a connection between the layered ejecta morphologies and the subsurface volatiles.     

Lunar mascons as consequences of giant impacts

A model is proposed for the formation of lunar mascons which explains persistence of lunar mascons for more than 3 b.y., evidence for the volcanic activity 3.7-3.2 b.y. ago, and negative gravity anomalies surrounding the mascons. It is concluded that mascons have resulted from the perturbations introduced by the giant impacts into an otherwise spherically symmetric Moon; a giant impact enhances the rate of cooling beneath the impact site by introducing releatively low temperature to a deeper part of the Moon through forming a basin and also by removing substantial amount of radioactive material by means of ejecta. On the other hand, it reduces the rate of cooling beneath the surrounding highland by thermal insulation through extensive fracturing and covering by an ejecta blanketing. Consequently, the base of the lithosphere (100 km thick) beneath the highland remelts to a depth of about 80 km and this creates thermal stresses strong enough to open the fractures in the overlying region and to cause magmatization and volcanic activity. Persistence of the molten phase around 100 km depth for about 1 b.y. probably provides further differentiation and an upward concentration of low density material, giving rise to the observed negative gravity rings. On the other hand, the relatively cold lithosphere beneath the basin forms a layer strong enough to support the associated mascon.     

The planforms of low‐angle impact craters in the northern hemisphere of Mars

Abstract— We have surveyed Martian impact craters greater than 5 km in diameter using Viking and thermal emission imaging system (THEMIS) imagery to evaluate how the planform of the rim and ejecta changes with decreasing impact angle. We infer the impact angles at which the changes occur by assuming a sin²θ dependence for the cumulative fraction of craters forming below angle θ. At impact angles less than ?40° from horizontal, the ejecta become offset downrange relative to the crater rim. As the impact angle decreases to less than ?20°, the ejecta begin to concentrate in the cross‐range direction and a “forbidden zone” that is void of ejecta develops in the uprange direction. At angles less than ?10°, a “butterfly” ejecta pattern is generated by the presence of downrange and uprange forbidden zones, and the rim planform becomes elliptical with the major axis oriented along the projectile's direction of travel. The uprange forbidden zone appears as a “V” curving outward from the rim, but the downrange forbidden zone is a straight‐edged wedge. Although fresh Martian craters greater than 5 km in diameter have ramparts indicative of surface ejecta flow, the ejecta planforms and the angles at which they occur are very similar to those for lunar craters and laboratory impacts conducted in a dry vacuum. The planforms are different from those for Venusian craters and experimental impacts in a dense atmosphere. We interpret our results to indicate that Martian ejecta are first emplaced predominantly ballistically and then experience modest surface flow.     

Secondary and sesquinary craters on Europa

We address impact cratering on Io and Europa, with the emphasis on the origin of small craters on Europa as secondary to the primary impacts of comets on Io, Europa, and Ganymede. In passing we also address the origin of secondary craters generated by Zunil, a well-studied impact crater on Mars that is a plausible analog to impact craters on Io. At nominal impact rates, and taking volcanic resurfacing into account, we find that there should be 1.3 impact craters on Io, equally likely to be of any diameter between 100 m and 20 km. The corresponding model age of Europa's surface is between 60 and 100 Ma. This range of ages does not include a factor three uncertainty stemming from the uncertain sizes and numbers of comets. The mass of basaltic impact ejecta from Io to reach Europa is found to meet or exceed the micrometeoroid flux as a source of rock-forming elements to Europa's ice crust. To describe impact ejecta in more detail we adapt models for impact-generated spalls and Grady-Kipp fragments originally developed by Melosh. Our model successfully reproduces the observed size-number distributions of small craters on both Mars and Europa. However, the model predicts that a significant fraction of the 200-500 m diameter craters on Europa are not traditional secondary craters but are instead sesquinary craters caused by impact ejecta from Io that had gone into orbit about Jupiter. This prediction is not supported by observation, which implies that high speed spalls usually break up into smaller fragments that make smaller sesquinary craters. Iogenic basalts are also interesting because they provide stratigraphic horizons on Europa that in principle could be used to track historic motions of the ice, and they provide materials suitable to radiometric dating of Europa's surface.     

Distant ejecta from the Lockne marine‐target impact crater,Sweden

Abstract— The Lockne impact event took place in a Middle Ordovician (455 Ma) epicontinental sea. The impact resulted in an at least 13.5 km wide, concentric crater in the sea floor. Lockne is one of very few locations where parts of an ejecta layer have been preserved outside the crater structure. The ejecta from the Lockne impact rests on progressively higher stratigraphic levels with increasing distance from the crater, hence forming a slightly inclined discontinuity surface in the pre‐impact strata. We report on a ～30 cm thick sandy layer at Hallen, 45 km south of the crater centre. This layer has a fining upward sequence in its lower part, followed by low‐angle cross‐laminations indicating two opposite current directions. It is rich in quartz grains with planar deformation features and contains numerous, up to 15 cm large, granite clasts from the crystalline basement at the Lockne impact site. The layer is within a sequence dated to the Baltoniodus gerdae conodont subzone. The dating is corroborated by chitinozoans indicating the latest Kukruse time below and the late Idavere above the impact layer. According to the chitinozoans biostratigraphy, some erosion may have occurred because of deposition of the impact layer. The Hallen outcrop, today 45 km from the centre of the Lockne crater, is at present the most distant accessible occurrence of ejecta from the Lockne impact. It is also the most distant location so far found where the resurge of water towards the crater has affected the bottom sediments. A greater crater diameter than hitherto assumed, thus representing greater impact energy, might explain the extent of the ejecta blanket. Fluidisation of ejecta, to be expected at a marine‐target impact, might furthermore have facilitated the wide distribution of ejecta.     

Fates of satellite ejecta in the Saturn system

We use conventional numerical integrations to assess the fates of impact ejecta in the Saturn system. For specificity we consider impact ejecta launched from four giant craters on three satellites: Herschel on Mimas, Odysseus and Penelope on Tethys, and Tirawa on Rhea. Speeds, trajectories, and size of the ejecta are consistent with impact on a competent surface (“spalls”) and into unconsolidated regolith. We do not include near-field effects, jetting, or effects peculiar to highly oblique impact. Ejecta are launched at velocities comparable to or exceeding the satellite's escape speed. Most ejecta are swept up by the source moon on time-scales of a few to several decades, and produce craters no larger than 19 km in diameter, with typical craters in the range of a few km. As much as 17% of ejecta reach satellites other than the source moon. Our models generate cratering patterns consistent with a planetocentric origin of most small impact craters on the saturnian icy moons, but the predicted craters tend to be smaller than putative Population II craters. We conclude that ejecta from the known giant craters in the saturnian system do not fully account for Population II craters.     

Lunar and Venusian radar bright rings

Twenty-one lunar craters have radar bright ring appearances which are analogous to eleven complete ring features in the earth-based 12.5 cm observations of Venus. Radar ring diameters and widths for the lunar and Venusian features overlap for sizes from 45 to 100 km. Radar bright areas for the lunar craters are associated with the slopes of the inner and outer rim walls, while level crater floors and level ejecta fields beyond the raised portion of the rim have average radar backscatter. We propose that the radar bright areas of the Venusian rings are also associated with the slopes on the rims of craters.The lunar craters have evolved to radar bright rings via mass wasting of crater rim walls and via post impact flooding of crater floors. Aeolian deposits of fine-grained material on Venusian crater floors may produce radar scattering effects similar to lunar crater floor flooding. These Venusian aeolian deposits may preferentially cover blocky crater floors producing a radar bright ring appearance.We propose that the Venusian features with complete bright ring appearances and sizes less than 100 km are impact craters. They have the same sizes as lunar craters and could have evolved to radar bright rings via analogous surface processes.