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I'm not sure how the mechanics of a 200 km wide comety like object hitting Mars at ~25 km/s would work out, but I'm reasonably certain that it would result in a
by lumost 5y ago
I'm not sure how the mechanics of a 200 km wide comety like object hitting Mars at ~25 km/s would work out, but I'm reasonably certain that it would result in a major resurfacing event. I'd venture that the majority of the gasses would retain escape velocity following impact.
- tshaddox 5y agoWell, since we’re just assuming we could meaningfully change it’s trajectory we might as well also assume we could slow it down!
- hodgesrm 5y agoSlowing it down would take way more energy than just nudging in a different direction. You might be better off trying to break it up into smaller pieces.
- monkeycantype 5y agoTaking notes.... Small pieces... uh ha, yep got it,.. Slow it down... yep. What else?
- Scarblac 5y agoMake sure they hit at a safe distance from our Mars rovers, I like them.
- monkeycantype 5y agohow would we aerobreak it in mars's atmosphere into a decaying orbit, so instead of slamming into mars, it breaks up and rains down on mars? What can we tell about the composition - a solid rock or icy rubble?
- minitoar 5y agoYou get it into an orbit that will have several close encounters with Mars or other planets with atmosphere and you do a bit of aerobraking/thrusting on each pass.
- lumost 5y agoThe martian atmosphere will have a negligible impact on a 200km wide object. Tidal forces would likely shred the object and the surface of Mars if an aerobraking maneuver was attempted.
- avaldes 5y agoShouldn't break by itself with Mars' tidal forces alone?