Laboratory investigations of the temperature dependence of hypervelocity impact cratering in ice

Laboratory investigations by hypervelocity impact cratering in water ices are usually carried out at temperatures of approximate 250–265 K. However, icy surfaces in the Solar System are typically at lower temperatures. Accordingly a study of the temperature dependence of cratering in water ice has been carried out using a two-stage light gas gun firing mm-sized projectile at 5 – 6 km s −1. The temperature of the water ice targets has been varied in the range 152–253 K. The variation in depth, diameter and volume of the resulting craters is presented as a function of temperature.