New data reveals Mars is a seismically active planet
Results from the Mars Insight Lander reveal that the red planet gets rocked by lots of ‘marsquakes’
NASA’s robotic geophysicist, the InSight lander has been gathering intel on the evolution of our planetary neighbor since its landing on the surface in November 2018. Last October, I wrote about its findings on the crustal magnetic field, which stunned the scientists. They were 20 times stronger than previously predicted. This, of course, nullified currently held theories about the non-existence of the magnetic field around the red planet.
After landing on the Mar’s surface the lander deployed the instruments duo — SEIS instrument (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) & the self-hammering heat probe, also known as “the mole.” Both of them are designed to work concurrently. Whereas the SEIS is gathering data above the Martian surface, the mole has been drilling into the surface to measure the thermal conductivity and temperature in the soil.
While the heat probe has hit a few snags drilling into the surface, both the instruments have been collecting some valuable data slowly but surely. This is the first endeavor at deploying a seismometer in 40 years. Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers which arrived here in the 70s, both had seismometers…
