Article,
Impact cratering theory and modeling for the Deep Impact mission: From mission planning to data analysis
Space Science Reviews, 117 (1-2): 241--267 (2005)
Abstract
The cratering event produced by the Deep Impact mission is a unique
experimental opportunity, beyond the capability of Earth-based laboratories
with regard to the impacting energy, target material, space environment,
and extremely low-gravity field. Consequently, impact cratering theory
and modeling play an important role in this mission, from initial
inception to final data analysis. Experimentally derived impact cratering
scaling laws provide us with our best estimates for the crater diameter,
depth, and formation time: critical in the mission planning stage
for producing the flight plan and instrument specifications. Cratering
theory has strongly influenced the impactor design, producing a probe
that should produce the largest possible crater on the surface of
Tempel 1 under a wide range of scenarios. Numerical hydrocode modeling
allows us to estimate the volume and thermodynamic characteristics
of the material vaporized in the early stages of the impact. Hydrocode
modeling will also aid us in understanding the observed crater excavation
process, especially in the area of impacts into porous materials.
Finally, experimentally derived ejecta scaling laws and modeling
provide us with a means to predict and analyze the observed behavior
of the material launched from the comet during crater excavation,
and may provide us with a unique means of estimating the magnitude
of the comet's gravity field and by extension the mass and density
of comet Tempel 1.
