NASA’s Insight rover has recorded two major earthquakes in the history of Mars so far Science

Scientists hope that the results of the study of the earthquakes on Mars will help to gain a deeper understanding of the internal structure of the red planet because its waves are reflected in its layers and they are affected when they go to the measuring instruments. Insight ”spacecraft.

A team of scientists led by scientists from the University of Bristol in the UK has been able to detect two earthquakes on the surface of Mars, the most powerful ever, 5 times more than the previous record, which contributes to a better understanding. Layers of the Red Planet.

Just StudyPublished in The Seismic Record on April 22, the researchers used a seismograph on NASA’s Insight spacecraft. The surface of Mars in November 2018.

Insight, which aims to study the geological processes that have formed the solar system’s rocky planets over the past 4 million years, uses Mars as a prime model for this study, and is proud to be the first to observe Mars earthquakes in 2019.

The biggest ever

I came inside Press release The US Geological Survey, which is participating in the study, named the first earthquake “S0976a”, the strongest ever 4.2 magnitude, and occurred on August 25, 2021. The second earthquake was named “S0976A”. 1000a “(S1000a) occurred after the first 24 days and the Richter scale was 4.1.

Both earthquakes occurred in the Valles Marineris region, a group of giant valleys and valleys located along the equator of Mars.

False Mariners is one of the largest landforms in the Solar System, featuring images of Mars as it appears from space like deep cracks in the body of the planet!

Earlier studies in 2012 indicated that False Mariners were an active fault, i.e. a fault that could be the site of future earthquakes, and then S0976A and S1000A were the first evidence of the validity of this hypothesis.

According to a new study, the second earthquake, especially the “S1000A”, is a unique addition to scientific research in this area because it lasted more than 94 minutes.

In addition, the quake recorded various types of seismic waves (called Pdiff waves) through the center of the planet, and this is the first time it has been detected on the surface of Mars.

Mars earthquake

In general, the main cause of earthquakes on Earth is the movement of tectonic plates, which periodically rub against each other, causing cracks between them, and the magnitude of this fracture. Tectonic plates are crustal layers that are 100 km to 150 km thick, moving slowly and permanently.

On Mars, there is no movement of tectonic plates, but there are other causes that lead to earthquakes on its surface, but not by the strength and magnitude of the earthquakes, i.e. cracks caused by small contractions on the planet. Cold, or the fall of a large meteorite, or rise of magma. Heat (magma) from the center of the planet and pressure on its surface from below.

Scientists hope that the results of the study of Mars earthquakes will help to achieve a deeper understanding of the internal structure of the red planet, because its waves are reflected in the layers of the planet and affected by them, they go to measuring devices. “Insight” spacecraft.