The new craters Lal, Mursan, and Hilsa on Mars.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The scientists of Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) have discovered three new craters on Mars. They have been discovered in the Tharsis volcanic region (around 21.0 S, 209 W) on Mars.

On the recommendation of the PRL, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature approved naming the three craters on Mars.

What they are named

One crater has been named “Lal crater” after Prof. Devendra Lal, a renowned Indian geophysicist and former director of PRL from 1972-1983. It is a 65 km wide crater, centered at -20.98° and 209.34°.

The second crater has been named “Mursan crater” after a town in Uttar Pradesh, India. Mursan crater is a ~10 km wide crater superimposed on the eastern side of the rim of the Lal crater.

The third crater is “Hilsa crater”. It is a ~10 km wide crater superimposed on the western side of the rim of the Lal crater. It is named after a town in Bihar, India.

Explaining the scientific importance of Lal crater, PRL stated that the entire area of the crater, in the Tharsis volcanic region on Mars, is covered with lava.

Other than lava

There is geophysical evidence of material other than lava in this crater, with a 45-m thick sedimentary deposit in the subsurface of the crater, obtained using subsurface radar SHARAD/MRO. This discovery provides compelling evidence that the water has moved large volumes of sediment into the crater, now named Lal Crater. This finding also confirms that Mars was once wet, and water has flown on the surface.

On the other two craters, the Ahmedabad-based unit of Department of Space stated: ”Two small superimposed craters, on either side of Lal Crater, named as Mursan and Hilsa, provide the timeline for the infilling process of the Lal Crater, and suggest that the infilling has been episodic.”