An important update was recently shared by NASA that its scientists detected a quake on Mars. According to the report, the Marsquake was of 4.7 magnitude which was modest as per our planet’s standard but fairly strong for the neighbor planet Mars. For the unversed, this quake was detected on our planetary neighbor on May 4, 2022, by NASA’s InSight lander. You must be wondering what’s shocking in it as quakes are also very common on earth. But the scientists were surprised when InSight lander detected the quake on Mars where the geological process called plate tectonics which causes the quakes on Earth, is not present. This is why scientists were surprised. If you are also scrambling to the web regarding the same, the following sections are waiting for you. Swipe down the page and read more details.
As mentioned, our planetary neighbor, Mars lacks the plate tectonics that usually generates tremors and quakes on Earth. As there is no availability of plate tectonics on Mars, scientists were surprised at what caused the marsquake of 4.7 magnitude. As a result, NASA scientists went to go deep and detect the reason for the 4.7 magnitude marsquake but the search for an impact crater did not find any source leading the researchers to conclude that the quake was a result of tectonic activity.
The scientists kept on rumbling into Mars’ interior for a deep understanding of what makes the planet shake, roll, and rattle. Ben Fernando of the University of Oxford in England, who is the leading author of the research published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, is also a Planetary scientist. Fernando said, “We concluded that the largest marsquake seen by InSight was tectonic, not an impact. This is important as it shows the faults on Mars can host hefty marsquakes. We really thought that this event might have an impact.”
Imperial College London planetary scientist, co-chair of NASA’s InSight’s Geology Working Group, and study co-author Constantinos Charalambous asserted, “This represents a significant step forward in our understanding of Martian seismic activity and takes us one step closer to better unraveling the planet’s tectonic processes,” After four year of operations on Mars, NASA retired InSight lander last year. During its span on Mars, its seismometer detected 1,319 marsquakes. The Martian crust is a single solid plate but that does not mean all is quiet on Mars.