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We identify a new mechanism that can lead to the destruction of small,close-in planetary satellites. If a small moon close to the planet has asizable eccentricity and inclination, its ejecta that escape to planetocentricorbit would often re-impact with much higher velocity due to the satellite'sand the fragment's orbits precessing out of alignment. If the impacts ofreturning ejecta result in net erosion, a runaway process can occur which mayend in disruption of the satellite, and we term this process ``sesquinarycatastrophe''. We expect the moon to re-accrete, but on an orbit withsignificantly lower eccentricity and inclination. We find that the largemajority of small close-in moons in the Solar System, have orbits that areimmune to sesquinary catastrophe. The exceptions include a number of resonantmoonlets of Saturn for which resonances may affect the velocities of re-impactof their own debris. Additionally, we find that Neptune's moon Naiad (and to alesser degree, Jupiter's Thebe) must have substantial internal strength, inline with prior estimates based on Roche limit stability. We also find thatsesquinary instability puts important constraints on the plausible past orbitsof Phobos and Deimos or their progenitors.

Sesquinary Catastrophe For Close-In Moons with Dynamically Excited Orbits