NASA's InSight lander detects massive quakes on Mars, calls it 'Earth-like'

NASA’s InSight lander detected two strong quakes on Mars last month, taking the count to 500 since its touchdown on the red planet in 2018. According to the mission control, the quakes measured 3.3 and 3.1 in magnitude and originated in the region called Cerberus Fossae, reinforcing the belief that the area is seismically active. The temblors were recorded on March 7 and March 18 respectively. 

‘Marsquake’

Unlike Earth, Mars does not have tectonic plates. However, it possesses volcanic regions, which can cause rumbles. Before last month’s ‘Marsquakes’, the planet had recorded two other gigantic quakes, measuring  3.6 and 3.5 on the seismic scale. Speaking about the same, the experts explained that over the course of years, they had observed two types of tremors on the planet- ”Earthlike” and “Moonlike” adding that all the four aforementioned quakes fell in the former category.  

“Over the course of the mission, we’ve seen two different types of marsquakes: one that is more ‘Moon-like’ and the other, more ‘Earth-like,’” said Taichi Kawamura of France’s Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, which helped provide InSight’s seismometer and distributes its data along with the Swiss research university ETH Zurich. Earthquake waves travel more directly through the planet, while those of moonquakes tend to be very scattered; marsquakes fall somewhere in between. “Interestingly,” Kawamura continued, “all four of these larger quakes, which come from Cerberus Fossae, are ‘Earth-like." 

Additionally, the mission noted something else in common between the new and previous quakes-that both occurred in Martian northern summer. In the aftermath, they’ve declared it as the “ideal”l time to listen for quakes because winds would become calmer. 

“The seismometer called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) is sensitive enough that, even while it is covered by a dome-shaped shield to block it from wind and keep it from getting too cold, the wind still causes enough vibration to obscure some marsquakes. During the past northern winter season, InSight couldn’t detect any quakes at all,” the Space Agency further said. 

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