Pit Crater Chains Across the Solar System: Evidence for Subterranean Tectonic Caves, Porosity and Permeability Pathways on Planetary Bodies

Pit crater chains are surface features comprised of linear assemblages of collapsed depressions that are identified on several solid bodies throughout the Solar System. On Earth, they have been observed to form when dilational motion on normal faults causes the overlying materials to collapse into the dilating segment of the buried fault. It has been hypothesized that pit crater chains observed on Mars, Enceladus, and various small bodies formed by the same process. Dilational fault movement can also create subsurface permeability pathways for fluid/volatile transport and trapping. Studying pit crater chains and tectonic caves on planetary bodies has implications for both in situ resource utilization and astrobiology, and should be considered as a potential driver for determining exploration targets.

Automated summary

Pit crater chains are surface features that can be found on several celestial bodies in the Solar System, formed through the collapse of overlying materials caused by dilational motion on faults. These chains could also be used as pathways for fluid transport and trapping.