juliensimon/mars-craters-robbins

Mars Crater Database (Robbins & Hynek 2012)

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Part of a dataset collection on Hugging Face.

Dataset description

The only global Mars impact crater database, containing craters with diameter >= 1 km identified from high-resolution imagery. This is the definitive reference catalog for Mars crater studies.

This database was compiled by Stuart J. Robbins and Brian M. Hynek (2012) using THEMIS, CTX, and other Mars imagery. Every crater >= 1 km in diameter on the Martian surface was identified and measured, including ejecta morphology classification and depth measurements where available.

Impact craters are the dominant geological landform on Mars, recording billions of years of bombardment history across the planet's surface. The size-frequency distribution of craters is a primary tool for estimating the ages of geological units on Mars and other planetary bodies — a technique known as crater counting chronology. Larger craters excavate deeper into the crust, exposing subsurface materials and creating central peaks, while smaller craters probe the mechanical properties of surface layers. The transition diameter between simple (bowl-shaped) and complex (terraced, central-peak) craters on Mars occurs near 6-8 km, reflecting the lower surface gravity compared to Earth.

Ejecta morphology is particularly diagnostic on Mars because many craters display layered or fluidized ejecta blankets — rampart craters — that are interpreted as evidence for subsurface volatiles (water ice or liquid water) at the time of impact. The number of ejecta layers and their morphological classification correlate with crater size, latitude, and inferred subsurface ice distribution. This makes the Robbins database an essential resource for mapping the planet's volatile inventory and understanding the evolution of Mars's climate and hydrological cycle.

The depth-to-diameter ratios recorded in this catalog also carry important information. Fresh craters follow a predictable scaling relationship between depth and diameter, while degraded craters exhibit shallower profiles due to infilling by sediments, lava, or aeolian deposits. Systematic deviations from the fresh-crater scaling law across different regions of Mars reveal patterns of resurfacing and erosion that constrain the geological history of the Martian surface.

Schema

Column	Type	Description	Sample	Null %
crater_id	object	Unique crater identifier assigned by Robbins & Hynek; integer starting from 1	01-1-000003	0.0%
latitude_deg	float64	Crater center planetocentric latitude in degrees (-90 to +90)	79.2575988	0.0%
longitude_deg	float64	Crater center east longitude in degrees (0–360 E; Mars uses east-positive convention)	211.9099494	0.0%
diameter_km	float64	Rim-to-rim crater diameter in km; catalog minimum is 1 km; maximum is ~2300 km (Hellas basin)	19.52669825	0.0%
size_class	object	Derived size category: "small" (<5 km), "medium" (5–20 km), "large" (20–100 km), "giant" (>100 km)	medium	0.0%

Quick stats

• 385,049 total craters (diameter >= 1 km)
• Size distribution: 337,450 small (<5 km), **36,696** medium (5–20 km), **10,598** large (20–100 km), **305** giant (>100 km)
• Diameter range: 1.00 – 1088.0 km

Usage

from datasets import load_dataset
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

ds = load_dataset("juliensimon/mars-craters-robbins", split="train")
df = ds.to_pandas()

# Size distribution histogram (log scale)
df["diameter_km"].hist(bins=100, log=True, color="firebrick", edgecolor="none")
plt.xlabel("Diameter (km)")
plt.ylabel("Count (log scale)")
plt.title("Mars Crater Size Distribution")
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

# Map of large craters scaled by diameter
large = df[df["size_class"].isin(["large", "giant"])]
plt.figure(figsize=(12, 6))
plt.scatter(large["longitude_deg"], large["latitude_deg"],
            s=large["diameter_km"] / 5, alpha=0.5, c="firebrick", linewidths=0)
plt.xlabel("Longitude (deg E)")
plt.ylabel("Latitude (deg)")
plt.title("Large Mars Craters (>20 km diameter)")
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

Data source

https://astropedia.astrogeology.usgs.gov/download/Mars/Research/Craters/RobbinsCraterDatabase_20121016.tsv

Related datasets

• juliensimon/lunar-craters

• juliensimon/impact-craters

• juliensimon/planetary-nomenclature

Citation

@dataset{mars_craters_robbins,
  title = {Mars Crater Database (Robbins & Hynek 2012)},
  author = {juliensimon},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/mars-craters-robbins},
  publisher = {Hugging Face}
}

License

CC-BY-4.0