After three years of listening to Mars’ soft rumble, the lander NASA insights You’ve just caught the biggest “swamp” to date.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the lander’s seismometer Detected a 5 on the Richter scale, very small and fairly quiet on Earth, but definitely one of the strongest we’ve seen on Mars..
Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates, the floating and moving parts of the Earth’s crust, collide or rub against each other, sometimes forming mountains and volcanoes in the process. However, Mars does not have plate tectonics, because its crust consists of one solid plate..
however, Mars also experiences frequent earthquakes. Since 2018: InSight has recorded over 1,300 vibrationswhich is believed to be caused by cracks in the crust caused by the cooling of the planet’s liquid core.
In addition, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have stated Moving molten rock beneath the Martian surface It can also contribute to earthquakes.
whatever happens, Earthquakes can reveal many previously hidden things about the Red Planet. By detecting these seismic waves and finding their source, scientists can learn many things about Mars’ interior, such as the size and density of the mantle and core.
Prior to this month, the largest earthquake detected by InSight was a magnitude 4.2 earthquake detected in August 2021. However, because the Richter scale is logarithmic, the new standard earthquake of magnitude 5 is six times as strong.
The new landmark is likely to help future scientists learn more about Mars’ interior, which could help answer some of its most pressing mysteries, such as the lack of plate tectonics and the nature of its core (which could be solid). that ground or liquid).
In just three years of operation, NASA’s InSight program has answered important questions about Mars’ crust, mantle, and core that scientists have speculated for decades, and more to come.
Unfortunately, the investigation faced serious technical difficulties. Since InSight first arrived on the planet, dust storms have intensified, disrupting the makeup of the sun.
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