37th DPS Meeting, 4-9 September 2005
Session 59 Laboratory Research
Poster, Thursday, September 8, 2005, 6:00-7:15pm, Music Recital Room

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[59.02] Impact experiments on porous targets to study variation effects of physical properties of the surface of Solar System bodies

F. Ferri, C. Giacomuzzo, D. Pavarin, A. Francesconi, F. Angrilli (CISAS "G. Colombo" - Univ. Padova, Italy), P. Cerroni, F. Capaccioni (IASF-INAF, Roma, Italy), M. Di Martino (OAT-INAF, Torino, Italy), E. Flamini (ASI, Roma, Italy)

A better understanding of the impact processes is needed for the analysis of the surface evolution and the collisional evolution of the minor bodies in the Solar System as well as for the interpretation of observed data resulting from space missions such as Cassini/Huygens, Rosetta, Deep Impact and Dawn.

We report on hypervelocity impact experiments performed using the two-stage light-gas gun located at the hypervelocity impact facility at CISAS “G. Colombo” of the University of Padova, Italy.

A dedicated experimental set-up has been implemented to carry out tests on targets of porous materials and icy-silicate mixture. Tests have been performed on different materials to study the craterization and catastrophic disruption of porous targets simulating asteroids, comet nuclei and icy satellites. Physical properties of the impacted materials are analyzed before, during (when possible) and after the event by means of the diagnostic tools available at the impact facility. The experimental set-up allows to evaluate crater morphology, volume, depth-diameter ratio, ejected mass-projectile mass ratio and to derive the fragment mass distribution. Preliminary numerical simulations by hydrocodes (SPH, Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics) have been run in parallel in order to model impact dynamics, cratering and disruption, and to validate the experimental tests.

We would like to acknowledge the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for supporting this research.


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