Tag: nasa

NASA’s InSight Lander Mission Detects Largest Marsquakes to Date – Magnitude 4.2 and 4.1

A seismometer placed by NASA’s InSight lander on Mars has detected the two biggest marsquakes to date. According to a new study, the seismic events were of magnitude 4.2 and magnitude 4.1. Both these quakes were five times stronger than the previous largest seismic event recorded. 

Researchers now hope to learn more about the interior layers of Mars after studying the seismic data of these two events. Mars has been of vital interest as scientists plan to colonise the planet. And these events could give insights into whether sustainable human presence is feasible or not. Marsquakes are measured on specific spectral magnitude scale, whereas earthquakes are calculated using the Richter Magnitude Scale.

The researchers have located the origin of the magnitude 4.2 quake (called S0976a) in the Valles Marineris, a massive canyon network on Mars and one of the largest graben systems in the solar system. Scientists had long believed that this area could be seismically active but this event is the first confirmation of its seismic activity.

The second 4.1 magnitude marsquake (S1000a) was recorded 24 days after the first event, the Seismological Society of America said in a statement. This event was different from the first in the sense that it was the first time Pdiff waves, small amplitude waves that have traversed the core-mantle boundary, were detected a seismometer planted by NASA’s Mars InSight lander mission. 

This illustration shows NASA’s InSight spacecraft with its instruments deployed on the Martian surface.
Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-CalTech

 

The researchers could not find its exact location except that it originated on the far side of Mars. This event was also special because the seismic energy released by it was the longest recorded on Mars, lasting 94 minutes.

Compared to the rest of the seismic activity detected by InSight, the two new quakes are true outliers, the researchers said. 

Mars seismicity location map and surface relief map showing InSight’s location
Photo Credit: The Seismic Record/ Seismological Society of America

“Not only are they the largest and most distant events by a considerable margin, S1000a has a spectrum and duration unlike any other event previously observed. They truly are remarkable events in the Martian seismic catalog,” said Anna Horleston of the University of Bristol, a researcher on the project. The research was published in the The Seismic Record journal by the Seismological Society of America.

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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures Video of Phobos Solar Eclipse From the Surface of Mars

If you ever imagined how a solar eclipse would appear from the surface of Mars, you are in for a treat. NASA has shared a “sped-up” video that showed one of Mars’ two moons shadowing the Sun as seen from the Martian surface. The interesting video was shot by the space agency’s Perseverance rover when Phobos, a small, potato-shaped moon of the Red Planet, moved between Mars and the Sun. “You’re just too good to be true. Can’t take my eyes off of you,” NASA said, sharing the video on its Instagram account.

These observations help scientists better understand the subtle shifts in the moon’s orbits and how its gravity pulls on the Martian surface, ultimately shaping the Red Planet’s crust and mantle. NASA’s Perseverance rover used its the next-generation Mastcam-Z camera on April 2 to capture the video.

The video showed a tiny object of irregular shape entering the view between Mars and the Sun from the upper right corner and then slowly moving into the centre and finally exiting from the other side of the Sun’s edge. Phobos is about 157 times smaller than Earth’s Moon. Scientists have found out that Phobos’s gravity experts small tidal forces on Mars, which is changing the moon’s orbit, bringing it closer to the Martian surface. Phobos will ultimately crash into the Martian surface in tens of millions of years.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manufactured the rover, said, in a statement, that the eclipse lasted for 40 seconds – much shorter than a typical solar eclipse involving Earth’s Moon.

Several probes sent to Mars have previously captured solar eclipses from the Red Planet. But Perseverance has provided the most zoomed-in video of a Phobos solar eclipse yet – and at the highest frame rate ever.

Perseverance landed on the Red Planet in February 2021. Its main objective is to look for signs of ancient microbial life. It is studying and analysing the Red Planet’s rock and dust, and collecting them for a future manned mission when these samples will be brought back to the Earth for further analysis.



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