- NASA’s Mars lander detects the marsquake
- This marsquake is ten times stronger than the previous disaster
- The recent magnitude of the marsquake recorded
On May 4, NASA’s InSight Mars lander, which is slowly dying due to light-blocking dust on its solar arrays, detected the most intense marsquake ever recorded, a magnitude five earthquake ten times stronger than the previous record holder.
Officials announced Tuesday that InSight would have to stop the continuous operation of its ultra-sensitive seismometer early this summer, a prelude to the end of science activities later this year because it is already working with one-tenth of the power its arrays generated when it landed on Mars in 2018.
The recent magnitude five marsquakes were the most powerful of more than 1,300 earthquakes registered by the spacecraft since its arrival. For the first time, we’ve been able to map out the interior of Mars,” Banerdt stated. “We can figure out the core’s size, density, and composition.” The bottom of the crust has been found, and the thickness of the crust has been determined.”
InSight data has also allowed researchers to study the martian mantle and learn more about its temperature and mineralogical structure. InSight has revolutionized our understanding of rocky planet interiors and paved the way for future missions, according to Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. “What we’ve discovered about Mars’ core structure can be applied to Earth, the moon, Venus, and even rocky planets in other solar systems,” says the researcher.
InSight was launched on May 5, 2018, and landed successfully in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars on November 26. InSight is a stationary, solar-powered spacecraft with a more limited mission than the nuclear-powered Curiosity and Perseverance rovers.
