NASA finally has a recording of a ‘Marsquake’
After months of waiting, NASA’s InSight lander has detected and recorded its first “Marsquake”!
Most of us are familiar with earthquakes. Here on Earth, the largest earthquakes are caused by the interaction of tectonic plates.
Even though Mars has no tectonic plates, scientists still believe that it experiences quakes, caused by the planet’s natural cooling which leads to stress. This stress builds over time, until it is strong enough to break the crust, resulting in a quake.
Now, for the first time, the InSight has likely detected a quake, and you can listen to it here:
The video and audio illustrates a seismic event occurring on the 128th Martian day – or sol – of the InSight mission. There’s noise from Martian wind, the seismic event itself, and the spacecraft’s robotic arm as it moves to take pictures.
Even though several other seismic events have been recorded, this event is believed to be the first Marsquake recorded, as the other signals were much more ambiguous.
The goal of NASA’s InSight mission is to study the Red Planet’s interior. These “Marsquakes” will help us understand how thick the Red Planet’s crust truly is, as well as how Mars formed. However, to accomplish this, InSight will need to detect stronger "Marsquakes" than this one. But now that we know we can do it, it’s simply a matter of time just waiting for them to occur!
You can learn more and hear the recording of the first “Marsquake” all weekend in LSC’s Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the biggest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. Experience it during our all-live show, “Wonders of the Night Sky.” Click here to learn more about our shows and get showtimes.
