What is required to assign an *absolute* date to craters on the Moon or Mars, as opposed to a relative age?
Answer
Establishing an absolute age scale calibrated by physical samples tied to known ages
Absolute dating requires a physical sample analyzed using methods like radiometric dating (often done on Earth samples) or calibration based on geological units on the Moon or Mars whose ages are known from returned samples.
Related Questions
What technique is foundational for determining the relative age of craters on airless bodies?If Crater A clearly cuts across the rim of Crater B, what is the relative age conclusion?Which surface characteristic generally indicates an older terrain when using crater density measurements?How does the rim of a very young crater typically appear compared to an old one?Compared to the vacuum of the Moon, what environmental factor causes faster degradation of crater rims on Mars?What is a key morphological indicator suggesting a crater is significantly older?Why is a direct visual comparison of degradation states between a lunar crater and a Martian crater often unreliable for determining identical ages?What is required to assign an *absolute* date to craters on the Moon or Mars, as opposed to a relative age?What is the primary role of finding geological units with known ages (e.g., Apollo landing sites) when dating impact history?How does the reliability of crater counting change when estimating the age of very old terrains versus younger features?