NASA’s InSight lander detected its first seismic event on Mars.
The seismic event was a faint rumble that was picked up by the probe’s sensors on the 128th Martian day of the – 6 April.
It is the first seismic signal detected on the surface of a planetary body other than the Earth and its Moon.
Scientists say the source for this “Marsquake” could either be movement in a crack inside the planet or the shaking from a meteorite impact.
Nasa’s InSight probe touched down on the Red Planet in November last year.
It aims to identify multiple quakes, to help build a clearer picture of Mars’ interior structure.
This image shows InSight’s domed Wind and Thermal Shield, which covers its seismometer. The image was taken on the 110th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The seismometer is called Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, or SEIS. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
NASA said that the new seismic event was too small to provide solid data on the Martian interior, which is one of InSight’s main objectives. The Martian surface is extremely quiet, allowing SEIS, InSight’s specially designed seismometer, to pick up faint rumbles.
In contrast, Earth’s surface is quivering constantly from seismic noise created by oceans and weather.
