Study Says 320-Meter Asteroid Reshaped Deimos, Leaving 10-Kilometer Polar Crater
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 20
Study Says 320-Meter Asteroid Reshaped Deimos, Leaving 10-Kilometer Polar Crater
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 20
Summary
About 100 impact simulations matched with ESA Hera flyby images point to one asteroid strike as the likeliest cause of Deimos’ south-pole basin and planetwide dust-and-rubble layer.
The favored scenario has a roughly 320-meter asteroid hitting at a 45-degree angle, spreading debris up to 200 meters deep and smoothing much of the 12-kilometer moon’s surface without shattering it.
Researchers say Deimos’ porous, fractured interior would have damped shock waves, preserving older crater outlines beneath the regolith and making the moon look far smoother than Phobos.
Japan’s MMX mission, due to launch by year-end and reach Mars’ moons in 2027, could test those predictions while also helping settle whether Deimos and Phobos were captured asteroids or formed from Martian debris.