The biggest meteorite strikes and impact craters have been recorded by two Nasa satellites.

The first ever detected near the surface of another planet was caused by the high-speed bombardments last year.

The larger of the two strikes churned out boulder-size slabs of ice, which may help researchers look for ways to use Mars' natural resources.

Stunning pictures of the craters created by the earthquakes were provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The co-author of the study said that it would have been huge to image the craters already. It was so lucky for us.

A life-size model of Nasa's InSight spacecraft.

Nasa’s InSight lander measured the seismic shocks, the first ever detected near the surface of another planet. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

Unlike Earth, where the thick atmosphere prevents most space rocks from reaching the ground, Mars' atmosphere is thin and1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 on1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556

A study last month linked a recent series of smaller Martian meteorite impacts with smaller craters closer to InSight.

As InSight nears the end of its mission, its solar panels are blanketed by dust storms. More than 1,300 marsquakes have been recorded since InSight landed on the equator of Mars.

Bruce Banerdt, the lander's chief scientist who took part in the studies, said that it would be heartbreaking when they lost communication. The data it has given us will keep us busy for a long time.

The landers had up to eight more weeks before the power goes out.

Posiolova said the incoming space rocks were between 16 feet and 40 feet in diameter. The impact was about magnitude 4.

A crater roughly 21 metres deep was created by the larger of the two that hit in December. White patches of ice around the crater are the most frozen water observed at such low latitudes.

Black and white images show the Mars site before and after a meteoroid hit. A clear crater is seen in the after image.

A space rock that struck Mars’ surface last December created a crater roughly 70ft deep. Photograph: AP

The crater was spotted by Posiolova earlier this year. She was able to identify the impact to late December after looking through the archives. She remembered a large seismic event recorded by InSight around that time and with help from that team she was able to match the fresh hole to a meteorite strike. There was a blast wave.

The readings from the impacts show a denser Mars.

"We still have a long way to go to understand the interior structure and dynamics of Mars, which remain largely enigmatic," said Doyeon Kim, who was part of the research.

European and Chinese landers will carry more advanced seismometers. Future missions will give a clearer picture of how Mars evolved, according to an editorial written by two Chinese scientists.