{"id":14864,"date":"2020-02-25T10:29:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T10:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=14864"},"modified":"2020-02-25T10:29:32","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T10:29:32","slug":"mars-quakes-the-insight-lander-shows-active-faults-in-the-planets-crust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/science-mct\/space\/mars-quakes-the-insight-lander-shows-active-faults-in-the-planets-crust\/","title":{"rendered":"Mars quakes: The InSight lander shows active faults in the planet’s crust"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Rothery<\/a>, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University <\/a>writes for The Conversation<\/em> about NASA’s Mars Insight probe.<\/p>\n

Most space missions investigate the surface or atmosphere of a body. But NASA\u2019s InSight<\/a> probe, which landed on Mars<\/a> in November 2018, is different \u2013 it is the first mission dedicated to studying the interior structure of the planet and whether it gives rise to \u201cmarsquakes\u201d. Now the results from its first ten months on the martian surface have been published in a series of papers in Nature Geoscience and Nature Communications (see overview here<\/a>).<\/figure>\n
\n

\"\"

Artist\u2019s impression of InSight on the martian surface. The seismometer is under the white dome to the left of the landing platform. NASA\/JPLK-Caltech<\/p><\/div>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

InSight touched down via parachute and retrorockets on the plains known as Elysium Planitia \u2013 lying between the ancient volcano Elysium Mons<\/a>, and Gale Crater<\/a> where the Curiosity Rover<\/a> is exploring. Although it is still trying to find a way to hammer its heat probe<\/a> adequately into the ground, other aspects of InSight\u2019s surface activities have worked well.<\/p>\n

For example, it successfully managed the crucial operation of using a robot arm to place a seismometer (a very sensitive vibration detector) on the ground well clear of the landing platform, and then to cover it with a wind and thermal shield. This was to isolate it from vibrations caused by wind or lander itself and that could otherwise drown out any vibrations caused by quakes.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"

Seen from InSight\u2019s fisheye camera, its seismometer undisturbed on the martian surface under its dome-like wind shield, while nearby the robotic arm adjusts the digging instrument. NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/p><\/div>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Up to 30 September 2019, 174 seismic events had been recorded. None was stronger than magnitude 4 on the Richter Scale<\/a>, which is commonly used to measured earthquake sizes on our own planet. There were 24 whose magnitude was in the range 3-4, meaning the energy released would be similar to exploding about a ton of TNT. It might sound a lot, but would pose very little risk for future astronauts on Mars unless they were unfortunate enough to be very close to the epicentre of a quake.<\/p>\n