NASA’s InSight Mars lander has detected the largest earthquake ever seen on another planet: a magnitude 5 earthquake on May 4, 2022, the 1222nd Martian day or mission salt. This adds to the catalog of more than 1,313 earthquakes that InSight discovered after landing on Mars in November 2018. The largest previously recorded earthquake was approximately 4.2 on the 25 August 2021.
InSight was sent to Mars with a highly sensitive seismometer provided by the French Center National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) to study the deep interior of the planet. As seismic waves pass through or are reflected by material in the crust, mantle, and core of Mars, they change in ways that seismologists can study to determine the depth and composition of these layers. What scientists are learning about the structure of Mars may help them better understand the formation of all rocky worlds, including the Earth and its Moon.
A magnitude 5 earthquake is of medium magnitude compared to Earth’s, but is close to the upper limit of what scientists had hoped to see on Mars during the InSight mission. The research team will have to further study this new earthquake before it can provide details such as its location, the nature of its source and what it can tell us about the interior of Mars.
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