London, United Kingdom

A team of scientists, headed by ETH Zurich and Imperial College London, has found a never-known global meteorite impact on Mars with the help of seismic data. 

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According to their new findings, nearly 280 to 360 meteorites have been hitting the planet every year and creating craters greater than 8 metres (about 26 feet) across.

Study's co-lead Geraldine Zenhaeusern said, "This rate was about five times higher than the number estimated from orbital imagery alone. Aligned with orbital imagery, our findings demonstrate that seismology is an excellent tool for measuring impact rates."

This new analysis of the data collected by a seismometer on Mars has emphasised that space rocks have been hitting Mars more frequently than ever thought.

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Based on the number of nearby impact-related tremors found by the Mars InSight lander, the scientists estimated that the planet must be facing smashing by rocks which are the size of a basketball almost every day.

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Co-lead author Geraldine Zenhausern of ETH Zurich and planetary scientist in Switzerland Geraldine Zenhausern said, "This rate was about five times higher than the number estimated from orbital imagery alone." 

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"Aligned with orbital imagery, our findings demonstrate that seismology is an excellent tool for measuring impact rates," he added.

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The speed at which a crater is formed on a planetary surface helps in understanding how old has the surface been.

Surfaces which have more craters are believed to be older in comparison to those with fewer craters. "By using seismic data to better understand how often meteorites hit Mars and how these impacts change its surface, we can start piecing together a timeline of the red planet's geological history and evolution," said planetary scientist and co-lead author Natalia Wojcicka of Imperial College London.

"You could think of it as a sort of 'cosmic clock' to help us date Martian surfaces, and maybe, further down the line, other planets in the Solar System," she added.

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Meanwhile, Mars is located close to the asteroid belt which lies between its orbit and the orbit of Jupiter and hence, has a lot of rocks in the vicinity which may have led to a high impact rate.

"While new craters can best be seen on flat and dusty terrain where they really stand out, this type of terrain covers less than half of the surface of Mars," said Zenhausern. "The sensitive InSight seismometer, however, could hear every single impact within the landers' range," he added. 

(With inputs from agencies)