InSight Detects Two Strong Quakes On Mars

NASA has announced that its InSight lander has detected a pair of strong and clear quakes on the surface of Mars located in the area known as Cerberus Fossae. Two strong quakes were also recorded earlier in the mission in the same area. NASA says the new marsquakes recently recorded had magnitudes of 3.3 and 3.1.

The new quakes were slightly less in magnitude than the previous two recorded in the same location, which were magnitude 3.6 and 3.5. InSight has recorded over 500 tremors during its mission, but these four combined are the best quake records yet for probing the planet's interior. InSight's science team is studying marsquakes better to understand the mantle and core of the planet.

Geologically, Mars is much different than Earth because Mars lacks tectonic plates yet has volcanically active regions that cause rumbles in the planet. The two new quakes were recorded on March 7 and March 18, and they lend weight to the idea that Cerberus Fossae is a center seismic activity on the planet. So far, scientists studying data from the mission have seen two different types of quakes on Mars, with one that is more Moon-like and one that is more Earth-like.

Earthquake waves travel directly through the planet, while moonquakes tend to be very scattered. Marsquakes fall somewhere in between the other two types of quakes. Scientists say that all four of the larger quakes recorded on Mars are more Earth-like. The new quakes also occurred during the Martian northern summer, just as the two strong previously recorded quakes did.

The seismograph under its protective dome is so sensitive that the wind sometimes obscures lesser marsquakes. InSight didn't detect any quakes during the northern winter season. Recently, the team controlling InSight used its scoop to drop soil on the domed Wind and Thermal shield, allowing it to trickle down on the cable and attempt to shield it from the wind and temperature changes to help improve seismic capability.