Abstract
Crater morphology and surface age of asteroid (162173) Ryugu are
characterized using the high-resolution images obtained by the Hayabusa2
spacecraft. Our observations reveal that the abundant boulders on and
under the surface of the rubble-pile asteroid affect crater morphology.
Most of the craters on Ryugu exhibit well-defined circular depressions,
unlike those observed on asteroid Itokawa. The craters are typically
outlined by boulders remaining on the rim. Large craters (diameter
>100 m) host abundant and sometimes unproportionally large
boulders on their floors. Small craters (<20 m) are
characterized by smooth circular floors distinguishable from the
boulder-rich exterior. Such small craters tend to have dark centers of
unclear origin. The correlation between crater size and boulder number
density suggests that some processes sort the size of boulders in the
shallow (<30 m) subsurface. Furthermore, the crater
size-frequency distributions (CSFDs) of different regions on Ryugu
record multiple geologic events, revealing the diverse geologic history
on this 1-km asteroid. Our crater counting analyses indicate that the
equatorial ridge is the oldest structure of Ryugu and was formed 23-29
Myr ago. Then, Ryugu was partially resurfaced, possibly by the impact
that formed the Urashima crater 5-12 Myr ago. Subsequently, a
large-scale resurfacing event formed the western bulge and the fossae
2-9 Myr ago. Following this process, the spin of Ryugu slowed down
plausibly due to the YORP effect. The transition of isochrons in a CSFD
suggests that Ryugu was decoupled from the main belt and transferred to
a near-Earth orbit 0.2-7 Myr ago.