  Real-time analysis of Martian craters is crucial for mission-critical
operations, including safe landings and geological exploration. This work
leverages the latest breakthroughs for on-the-edge crater detection aboard
spacecraft. We rigorously benchmark several YOLO networks using a Mars craters
dataset, analyzing their performance on embedded systems with a focus on
optimization for low-power devices. We optimize this process for a new wave of
cost-effective, commercial-off-the-shelf-based smaller satellites.
Implementations on diverse platforms, including Google Coral Edge TPU, AMD
Versal SoC VCK190, Nvidia Jetson Nano and Jetson AGX Orin, undergo a detailed
trade-off analysis. Our findings identify optimal network-device pairings,
enhancing the feasibility of crater detection on resource-constrained hardware
and setting a new precedent for efficient and resilient extraterrestrial
imaging. Code at: https://github.com/billpsomas/mars_crater_detection.
