Martian Impact Fracturing Pervasively Influences Habitability

Abstract

On Mars, the lack of either plate tectonics or a prominent erosional hydrological cycle since the Noachian means geological changes caused by asteroid and comet impact events have been preserved. On Earth, surviving impact-induced fractures are localized to the relatively few preserved craters on the planet. We estimate that the shell of impact-fractured rock on Mars (the “impact-sphere”) could provide between 9,200 times the surface area of a Mars radius sphere and up to 100 times this value, depending on the assumptions made, as potential microbially accessible space. Although >93% of craters we consider are smaller than 10 km in diameter, they contribute only about 5% of the total fracture surface area generated by all craters, making complex craters the dominant process for potential habitat formation. Microbiological data from terrestrial impact craters suggest that these fractures could have significantly enhanced local habitability by providing pathways for fluid flow, and thus nutrients and energy. However, unlike on Earth, the geological history of Mars means that pervasive impact fractures may also have provided pathways for Hesperian and Amazonian brines to infiltrate the subsurface and locally reduce habitability. Combining the fracture data with previous microbiological observations provides testable hypotheses for Martian drilling missions.