[meteorite-list] Meteorites on Mars

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:31:59 2004
Message-ID: <200401072138.NAA18789_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

>1. Mars' thinner atmosphere means more
>meteorites survive the fall though it
>than on Earth.

There are a number of factors to consider. Mars is smaller
than Earth, so has less gravity to pull in meteoroids.
However, Mars is closer to the asteroid belt, so is more
likely to encounter meteoroids than Earth. The thinner atmosphere means
it is more likely a meteorite will reach the surface, but it
also means it is more likely to impact at hypervelocity
speeds, and hypervelocity impacts tends to totally
vaporize meteorites.

Ron Baalke
Received on Wed 07 Jan 2004 04:38:45 PM PST