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Using the data from InSight’s seismometer of a 4 magnitude earthquake on Mars on December 24, 2021, scientists were able to use the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to find the meteorite impact that produced that quake, the largest detected since spacecraft have been visiting Mars. The picture to the right, cropped and reduced to post here and unveiled at yesterday’s press conference, shows the new crater.

The meteoroid is estimated to have spanned 16 to 39 feet (5 to 12 meters) – small enough that it would have burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, but not in Mars’ thin atmosphere, which is just 1% as dense as our planet’s. The impact, in a region called Amazonis Planitia, blasted a crater roughly 492 feet (150 meters) across and 70 feet (21 meters) deep. Some of the ejecta thrown by the impact flew as far as 23 miles (37 kilometers) away.

With images and seismic data documenting the event, this is believed to be one of the largest craters ever witnessed forming any place in the solar system.

This is not the first such impact identified from InSight seismic data, but it is the largest. The white streaks surrounding the crater are thought to be near-surface ice ejected at impact.

The overview map below provides further context, as well as showing us the proximity of this impact to the proposed Starship landing sites on Mars.

The black cross marks the impact location. The four red spots are the prime Starship landing sites. The white dots indicate other locations considered. The black dots were images taken for a proposed Dragon landing. This impact is thus only about 100 miles away from the nearest possible Starship landing spot.

The data has consistently suggested that this region of Mars has a lot of near surface ice. As Donna Viola of the University of Arizona noted at a science conference, “I think you could dig anywhere to get your water ice.” This impact did that digging, and thus threw out some ice.

The press conference also unveiled another impact discovered by InSight, located in the cracked region called Tempe Terra, east of the large shield volcano Alba Mons. Though the impact exposed bright material, “it is not clear whether this crater exposed ice from the subsurface.”

Meanwhile, InSight’s future remains dim. Scientists said at the conference that they now expect its mission to end within the next six weeks, when its power level drops too low for the lander to function.