Arabia Weather – There was a giant seismic event on Mars – “Mars earthquake” – That shook the Red Planet last year, an unexpected source, surprised scientists in the field of astrophysics across the world, as its source was very surprising. Instead of suspecting a meteorite impact as the source of the earthquake, it turned out to be caused by enormous tectonic forces trapped inside the Martian crust, which led to… To vibrations that lasted for up to six hours.
The phenomenon of earthquakes on Mars
The results and conclusions were published in a study published in the journal “Geophysical Research Letters”. NASA’s Insight lander recorded a powerful Martian earthquake 4.7 degrees on May 4, 2022And the name was given to him S1222aIts seismic signals initially caused some confusion; Because of its similarity to previous earthquakes caused by meteorite impacts.
To understand more about this phenomenon, a team of researchers at the University of Oxford worked in collaboration with the European Space Agency, the China National Space Agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, and the UAE Space Agency. Each team examined their satellite data to look for any signs indicating a meteorite impact, such as the presence of… A crater or dust cloud, and since they couldn’t find evidence of a meteorite impact, they now believe the Mars earthquake (S1222a) Caused by massive tectonic forces occurring within the Martian crust.
Also, the main available evidence does not point to the movement of tectonic crustal plates on Mars in the same way that they do during earthquakes, and Benjamin Fernando, who is a co-author of the study and an expert in planetary geophysics at the University of Oxford, pointed out that we still believe that Mars remains stable in terms of There are currently active tectonic plates, and in relation to the events that have been recorded, they are believed to be caused by Release pressure within the Martian crust; Due to stresses that have built up over the years, including different cooling and contraction in different parts of the planet.
Source of the Mars earthquake
In the research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, researchers indicate that the source of the giant earthquake that struck Mars was a result of… Due to massive tectonic activity in its crust, which is unexpected; Because there are no active tectonic plates on Mars, according to what was reported by the website “Science Alert” About Benjamin Fernando, one of the study participants and an expert in planetary geophysics at the University of Oxford.
Fernando explained that the pressures that resulted in this earthquake came as a result of the influence of billions of years of evolution, and included expansion and contraction in various parts of Mars at various rates, and through a mission “Insight” Which lasted approx 4 years On the surface of Mars, hundreds of earthquakes and tremors were monitored, some of which were caused by the collision of space particles with the surface of Mars, while other earthquakes were related to magma activity, which indicates that Mars is not completely solid in its interior as was previously thought.
Although the exact reason why some areas of Mars experience higher pressures is not entirely clearly known by scientists, these results may direct research towards a better understanding of this phenomenon. Fernando said:
“Over time, this information may be useful to us in determining safe areas for humans to potentially live on Mars, as well as places to avoid.”
This study enables the team to direct the knowledge gained towards other research, including future missions dedicated to exploring our moons and tectonic phenomena, which may exist on one of Saturn’s moons known as Titan. In addition, the team hopes to strengthen international cooperation to study Mars and its future exploration.
Regarding this, Dimitra Atri, who co-authored the study and is an astrophysicist at New York University Abu Dhabi, noted that this was a great opportunity to collaborate with the InSight team and members of other large missions dedicated to exploring Mars, and explained:
“This era is truly the golden age of Mars exploration!”
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