Hey Mike,
It's a thin atmosphere, but Mars does /have/ an atmosphere - it's about
1% the density of Earth's. At the kind of speeds we're talking about, I
don't see why ablation would be a problem. Space probes such as the
ill-fated Beagle 2 use a heatshield for the initial entry prior to
deploying parachutes (or not, in Beagle's case).
What would be interesting is to see the descent curve for a Martian
atmosphere compared to earth - I'd expect to see must shorter dark
flight, for instance. Wonder what that would mean for the temperature
of fresh-fallen Mars meteorites, if anything?
Mark
Mike Groetz wrote:
Hi Everyone-
Assuming Mars does not have an atmosphere and the
pitting in this rover photo of a meteorite on Mars is
from heat ablation...
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http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=h_opportunity_rock0120_1_02.jpg&cap=Instruments+on+the+Opportunity+Mars+rover+were+used+to+determine+that+the+object+was+a+meteorite.+Image+Credit%3A+NASA%2FJPL
Would this be possible without an atmosphere?
Take care, stay cool.
Thank you
Mike
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