Ejecta distribution, dynamics, and sedimentology on asteroid 433 Eros

We have mapped the mean horizontal dimensions of blocks larger than 15 m over the entire surface of Eros, and the sizes of blocks down to as small as 5 cm in local areas. There are 6760 blocks larger than 15 m on the 1125 km2 of the asteroid, 44 percent of the volume of which is within a 7.6 km wide crater (proposed name of Shoemaker). This region has a block volume per unit area 12 times that of the rest of Eros. Blocks outside Shoemaker are concentrated near the equator, and are relatively depleted in some longitudes. We have modeled trajectories of materials launched from the Shoemaker area as well as from other sites on Eros, using previously developed techniques. Trajectories from Shoemaker give predicted patterns of ejecta that approximate much of the observed pattern of blocks, whereas those arising from other large craters fail to approximate the pattern. The minimal visible contribution of blocks from other, older large craters suggests effective mechanisms of burial, erosion, or diminished block production relative to that of Shoemaker crater.