New Impacts on Mars: Systematic Identification and Association With InSight Seismic Events

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Abstract
The InSight lander represents a unique opportunity to correlate seismic data with impact events identified in orbital images, enabling the characterization of the physical properties of the martian crust and mantle. Here, we present the first comprehensive catalog of impacts that occurred during the InSight mission within a 50° radius around the lander. We use a machine learning‐enabled approach to identify 123 date‐constrained impacts with diameters between ∼1 and 22.5 m. We estimate an impact rate of 2.7 × 10 −6 /km 2 /year for >3.9 m effective diameter, which is ∼1.6–∼2.5 times higher than previously derived for Mars. We identify 49 seismic events with one or several potential impact match(es) including a 21.5 m crater located near Cerberus Fossae. Our catalog will enable a more accurate characterization of the propagation of seismic body waves at intermediate distances to InSight (5–50°), with major implications for estimates of other seismic event distances.
Funding Information
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC20K0971)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC20K0789)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004)
  • Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH+02 19‐1)

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