Earth and Planetary Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Dataset

Abstract

The theoretical limit of the smallest impact crater diameter that can form under current martian atmospheric conditions is approximately 0.25 m, which is near the projected pixel size of the best orbital imagers around Mars. As a result, there have been limited studies into how the retention of the smallest impact craters on Mars varies with surface properties, since orbital images alone cannot confidently resolve them. Rovers and landers are needed to confidently differentiate and measure these smallest craters. Here we catalog small impact craters seen along the first 25 km, or 3120 sols of the Mars Curiosity rover traverse in Gale crater and show a non-random spatial distribution of craters, indicating adependence on surface characteristics. Small crater density was higher along Aeolis Palus and Vera Rubin ridge. Crater retention at the decameter- to decimeter-diameter scale is positively correlated with locations with a local slope of ≤ 10 degrees and with low modern aeolian activity. The degree of cementation and crystallization of the target rocks is tentatively correlated with crater retention, with stronger cementing agents increasing the hardness of the target rocks and analogously crater retention. Grainsize was not significantly correlated with small crater retention likely due to overprinting of other variables. Aspect was not significantly correlated with crater retention. Our results demonstrate that crater retention is dependent on several variables related to surface geology. These findings improve our understanding of how surface processes modify impact records over time and provide ground-truth constraints for interpreting crater populations across Mars.

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