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Large and deep depressions, also known as pits, are observed at the surfaceof all Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) imaged by spacecraft missions. They offerthe opportunity to glimpse into sub-surface characteristics of comet nuclei,and study the complex interplay between surface structures and cometaryactivity. This work investigates the evolution of pits at the surface of81P/Wild 2, 9P/Tempel 1 and 103P/Hartley 2, in continuation of the work byBenseguane et al. (2022), on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Pits are selectedacross the surface of each nucleus, and high-resolution shape models are usedto compute the energy they receive. A thermal evolution model is applied toconstrain how cometary activity sustained under current illumination conditionscould modify them. Similarly to what was found for 67P, we show erosionresulting from water-driven activity is primarily controlled by seasonalpatterns, unique to each comet as a consequence of their shape and rotationalproperties. However, progressive erosion sustained after multiple perihelionpassages is not able to carve any of the observed pits. Instead, cometaryactivity tends to erase sharp morphological features: they become wider andshallower over time. Our results reinforce the evolutionary sequence evidencedfrom independent measurables to transform "young" cometary surfaces, with sharpsurface topography prone to outbursts, into "old" cometary surfaces. Finally,we suggest that the mechanism at the origin of pits on JFCs should be able tocarve these structures in a region of the solar system where water ice does notsublimate: the Centaur phase thus appears critical to understand JFCs surfaceproperties.

Pits on Jupiter Family Comets and the age of cometary surfaces