Hundreds of “Marsquakes” Detected on the Planet
The quakes apparently suggest much more activity within the planet than scientists were expecting.
NASA’s InSight lander has detected hundreds of quakes on Mars (known as “marsquakes,”) that are surprising scientists.
InSight landed on Mars in November 2018 to explore the planet beneath its surface. Just over a year later, its technology has detected more than 450 seismic signals toward the planet’s core. Though the marsquakes are much milder in magnitude than quakes felt on Earth, they happen far deeper in the planet.
The quakes apparently suggest much more activity within the planet than scientists were expecting.
"This is the first mission focused on taking direct geophysical measurements of any planet besides Earth, and it's given us our first real understanding of Mars' interior structure and geological processes," said Nicholas Schmerr, an assistant professor of geology at the University of Maryland and a co-author of the seismicity study.
Scientists attributed the quakes largely to Mars’ long-term interior cooling, a phenomenon that’s also occurring on Earth. As the red planet cools down, it contracts, causing the crust of the planet to crack and the surface to quake. However, the cause of each individual quake is still a mystery.
Along with the quakes, InSight’s instruments were also detecting other occurrences on Mars, including thousands of whirlwinds and magnetic signals coming from underground rocks.