April 25, 2019
Ever since NASA's InSight mission placed its dome-shaped seismometer onto the dusty Martian surface in December, hopes were high that the robotic lander would quickly detect its first Martian quake, or "Marsquake." Well, the wait is finally over – the mission's Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) confirmed its first faint rumble coming from inside the red planet on April 6 (on the 128th Martian day, or sol, of the mission), confirming that Mars is seismically active.
NASAs InSight Mission Detects Its First Marsquake
"We've been waiting months for a signal like this," Philippe Lognonné, SEIS team lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) in France, said in a NASA statement. "It's so exciting to finally have proof that Mars is still seismically active. We're looking forward to sharing detailed results once we've had a chance to analyze them."
NASA hopes to use seismic signals like these to give Mars a health-check of sorts. Like a doctor placing a stethoscope on their patient's chest, InSight is doing something similar: It's trying to "hear" what makes the planet "tick." On Earth, the cacophony of seismic signals bouncing around our planet's interior become distorted as they encounter regions of different densities. By measuring these seismic waves, we've learned about the different, unreachable layers deep underground.
Mars' interior is something of an enigma; the planet doesn't have a global magnetic field for reasons we have yet to fully understand and its volcanic activity was extinguished hundreds of millions of years ago. If the planet is geologically (or, more accurately, "areologically") dead, how can it produce marsquakes at all? It's thought that as the planet cools, it shrinks, crackling with small quakes that echo throughout the Martian interior. Mission scientists also want to listen out for meteorite impacts that will produce their own mini temblors, perhaps turning InSight into a real-time meteorite detector.
Until now, marsquakes were a theoretical possibility, but now that we know they are there, they can be used by InSight to understand what lies beneath the planet's surface.

According to mission scientists, this first marsquake is a pipsqueak and nothing like the tremors we are used to in Southern California. On Mars, however, this weak quake stands out in the comparative silence of Mars' quiet innards. Other weaker seismic signals have been also heard (on March 14, April 10, and April 11), but their origins are more ambiguous.
Although the April 6 event was too weak to be used to gain much information about the Martian interior, scientists are excited as we've seen something like it before – on the Moon.
"The Martian Sol 128 event is exciting because its size and longer duration fit the profile of moonquakes detected on the lunar surface during the Apollo missions," said Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director at NASA Headquarters.
During the Apollo program, astronauts placed five seismometers on the lunar surface, which detected thousands of "moonquakes" between 1969 and 1977. These seismic waves helped scientists learn about the lunar interior and even helped model its formation. Although InSight is just one seismometer on Mars, scientists hope that it will give us a window into the mysterious Martian interior that we know so little about.
"InSight's first readings carry on the science that began with NASA's Apollo missions," InSight Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California said in a press release. "We've been collecting background noise up until now, but this first event officially kicks off a new field: Martian seismology!"
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Millie Bobby Brown & Jake Bongiovi Celebrate “Three Years of Bliss” Ahead of Wedding
March 24, 2024
C4Ehegcq1-A
Kate Middleton & Prince William "Enormously Touched" by Public Support
March 24, 2024
s8fig-RCjFc
Gisele Bündchen Denies Cheating on Ex-Husband Tom Brady
March 23, 2024
_SpRMagA8BM
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
'Everybody Was S----ing Their Pants': Nick Thune Jokes About Being Born in the '70s and Fatherhood
March 16, 2024
mm7Baf6o2d8
Gunna Says Tour Will Up Creativity in Rap, Endorses Flo Milli | TMZ
March 22, 2024
QfMU24fw-Qo
Reporter Taylor Lorenz Says Palace Botched Kate Cancer News Rollout | TMZ Live
March 22, 2024
o43ZucdiyEo
Riley Strain's Body Found After Going Missing in Nashville 2 Weeks Ago | TMZ NOW
March 22, 2024
1m1zM-4_Cs8
Kyle Richards hasn’t spoken to co-star Dorit Kemsley, denies sending her a ‘manipulative’ text
March 24, 2024
LqLZzDP1hm4
Jordan Emanuel on her connection to 'RHOSLC' star Meredith Marks, advice from Amanda Batula
March 24, 2024
5NPAwlOov1Y
Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary apologizes after slamming ‘fickle’ Meghan Markle in scathing interview
March 24, 2024
JWG9kitALZk
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SK Brann W - Barcelona W
20
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Hacken W - PSG W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
SL Benfica W - Lyon W
19
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Ajax W - Chelsea W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Brighton - Manchester City
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.