Mysterious rumblings known as ‘Marsquakes’ have been detected by Nasa’s InSight lander, which provides further clues about volcanic activity below the surface of the Red Planet.
The quake originated in a region called Cerberus Fossae – an area where Nasa scientists have in the past picked up significant seismic activity and even landslides.
They believes that the earthquake was probably caused by a sudden release of energy below the surface of the planet, bBecause Mars does not have tectonic plates like Earth, the exact cause and origin of the rumble is unknown.
The quake was picked up by InSight’s seismometer, a drilling rig specially designed to capture Marsquakes.
Using its robotic arm, InSight partially buried the seismometer to protect it from strong seasonal winds and to make more accurate measurements.
NASA’s InSight has detected two major tremors on Mars in a region called Cerberus Fossae, which further supports the idea that this place is seismically active.
An artist’s performance of the InSight lander working on the surface of Mars. It supports several other missions orbiting the Red Planet
The area here where the earthquakes were detected – Cerberus Fossae – is a steep side cut into volcanic plains where active landslides were recorded in 2019.
Strikingly, the earthquakes occurred almost exactly one March year – or two Earths – after two previous earthquakes were detected in the same area.
InSight has so far recorded more than 500 earthquakes, but because of their clear signals, these four were the best earthquake records to investigate inside the planet, Nasa said in a statement.
Taichi Kawamura of France’s Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, which supports the Nasa mission, said the earthquakes raised scientists’ understanding of volcanic activity on the planet.
“During the course of the mission, we saw two different types of Martian earthquakes: one that is more ‘lunar’ and the other ‘more’ earthy ‘,” he said.
Earthquake waves move more directly through the planet, while those of lunar earthquakes are mostly scattered, Kawamura said.
Mars tremors fall somewhere in between.
Interestingly, all four of these larger tremors, which come from Cerberus Fossae, are ‘earthy’.
Launched in May 2018 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, InSight touched Mars in November of that year with the mission to give the planet its first thorough investigation since it formed 4.5 billion years ago.
It works with several missions that revolve around Mars and roam the planetary surface: including the Curiosity rover.
InSight’s ability to adapt to the incredibly difficult conditions on the planet has led to an attempt to obtain more accurate data.
It frequently occurs with extreme fluctuations in temperature – from minus 148 Fahrenheit during the night to 32 Fahrenheit – and strong seasonal winds.
The hope is that the Mars summer will bring calmer weather, which will make it easier to detect other tremors.
To record more accurate data, the InSight lander began using a ship on its robotic arm to place ground over the cable that connects its seismometer – the Seismic Experiment for Inner Structure (SEIS) – to the spacecraft.
“In this way, the soil can get as close to the shield as possible without interfering with the seal with the soil.”
Scientists hope isolating it from the wind will make it easier to detect Marsquakes.
The new quakes were slightly smaller than two previous quakes of magnitude 3.6 and 3.5 in the same region.
InSight has so far recorded more than 500 earthquakes, but because of their clear signals, they are four of the best earthquake records to explore the interior of the planet.
Since its arrival in November 2018, the InSight Lander has worked on several missions orbiting Mars and orbiting the planet’s surface: including the Curiosity Rover
In 2019, Nasa picked up evidence of active landslides at Cerberus Fossae, a set of pickups cut in volcanic plains on Mars.
The Curiosity rover also took some panoramas with its Mastcam camera
Earlier this week, NASACuriosity’s Mars Curver took a photo of himself taking a selfie with the 20 meter high ‘Mont Mercou’ rock formation.
The selfie shows the robber next to a rock formation called ‘Mont Mercou’, a nickname taken from a mountain in France.
And while the photo on its own is impressive, it was actually taken to celebrate Curiosity’s thirtieth sample to date, after the rover drilled a hole in a nearby rock sample nicknamed ‘Nontron’.
Curiosity also took some panoramas with its Mastcam on March 4th.
NASA explained: ‘By shooting one panorama from about 40 meters from the front, then rolling to the side and shooting another at the same distance, the rover created a stereoscopic effect similar to that seen in 3D. seekers are seen.
“Studying the outcome from more than one angle helps scientists get a better idea of the 3D geometry of the sedimentary layers of Mount Mercou.”
Curiosity is the largest and most capable rover ever sent to Mars, and is part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission.
It launched from Earth on November 26, 2011 and landed on Mars almost a year later, on August 5, 2012.
The main mission of the rover is to unravel their secret whether Mars ever had the right conditions to sustain life.
NASA added: ‘Early in its mission, Curiosity’s scientific instruments found chemical and mineral evidence of habitable environments on Mars in the past.
“It continues to explore the rock plate from a time when Mars could have been the microbial life.”