Wednesday, 24 April 2019

Nasa detects first 'Marsquake'


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has announced that its Mars InSight lander has measured and recorded for the first time ever a likely "marsquake".  Nasa said on Tuesday that the tremor, recorded on April 6, was "too small" to provide data on the interior of the planet. Unlike the earth, the surface on Mars is quiet which allows the seismometer to easily detect movement.
Quakes on Earth are caused by movement in tectonic plates. Although Mars does not have any tectonic plates it still experiences quakes. Nasa attributes the tremors on Mars to a continual cooling process as well as contraction which causes stress.
The InSight Lander landed on Mars in November 2018 after a seven-month journey to the planet.  One of the significant developments since the beginning of the mission include hearing the first sounds of Martian wind in December 2018.

No comments:

Post a Comment