Easing into Reality: Experimental Impacts into Slopes and LayersImpact cratering is the dominant geo-logic process affecting the surfaces of solid bodies throughout our solar system. Because large impacts are (luckily) rare on Earth, the process is studied through experiments, observations of existing structures, numerical modeling, and theory, most of which make the simplifying assumptions that the target is homogeneous, with no substantial topography. Craters do not always form on level targets com-posed of homogeneous loose material. Rather (Fig. 1), they often form on sloped surfaces and in layered tar-gets, both of which significantly influence the excavation and ejecta deposition processes. Such craters are common on the Moon and asteroids. We are investigating crater formation in two separate suites of experiments using sloped and layered targets (Fig. 2) at the Experimental Impact Laboratory at NASA Johnson Space Center. An experiment was also performed in a flat, homogenous target to serve as a reference.
Document ID
20190001926
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Ebel, J. M. (Winona State Univ. Winona, MN, United States)
Dechant, L. E. (Winona State Univ. Winona, MN, United States)
Anderson, J. L. B. (Winona State Univ. Winona, MN, United States)
Cintala, Mark J. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Plescia, J. B. (Johns Hopkins Univ. Columbia, MD, United States)