InSight went to Mars in 2018 and detected many Martian vibrations in four years. (Photo/Reuters)
Mars also has earthquakes! On May 4, 2022, NASA’s InSight landing probe detected a large earthquake on Mars with a magnitude of about 4.7. Although this earthquake magnitude is not too large for the earth, it is not large for a surface layer. For Mars without active plates, this is already a considerable earthquake.
In view of the fact that Mars does not have surface plate activity like the Earth, scientists suspected that this earthquake was caused by a meteorite impact. Unexpectedly, no meteorite impact craters were found on Mars. The scientists therefore concluded that this Mars earthquake was caused by the “crust” “It is caused by “plate motion”, which means that the source of the earthquake is the huge tectonic force inside Mars (that is, the internal rumbling sound when the Earth earthquakes), and this huge force can make Mars shake for up to 6 hours.
There are many different plates on the earth’s crust, and the movement and collision between the plates cause earthquakes; while the crust of Mars is a single plate, so there is no reason for plate collisions to cause earthquakes. Ben Fernando, a planetary scientist at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, published a paper in Geophysical Research Letters this week, saying that “there are still active faults on Mars. The planet is still slow Contraction and cooling, although active plate tectonic processes no longer occur, there is still movement within the crust.” He believes that this major discovery can help us better explore Mars.
Since InSight entered service in 2018, it has detected more than 1,300 Martian earthquakes, of which only 8 were confirmed to be caused by meteorite impacts. Regarding this earthquake, researchers measured that the epicenter was located in the Al-Qahira Vallis area in the southern hemisphere of Mars, about 2,000 kilometers slightly north and southeast of the equator where InSight is located. They believe that the earthquake may have originated tens of kilometers below the surface.
Constantinos Charalambous, a planetary scientist at Imperial College in London and co-author of the paper, said, “Most of the Martian earthquakes we have detected so far are related to a planet called Copper located east of InSight. “It is related to the Cerberus Fossae region,” and suggests that the location of most detected earthquakes is quite uncertain because the triggering mechanisms of Martian earthquakes are not well understood, “but this particular event is shedding light on the “It plays a vital role in the geological history, interior and evolution of the Red Planet.”
This discovery has given humans a deeper understanding of Mars. This information can be used in the future to allow humans to explore Mars more smoothly, avoid more risks when planning missions, and learn more about the structure of Mars.
