Mars lander confirms quakes, even aftershocks on red planet

NASA's newest Mars lander has confirmed that quakes and even aftershocks are regularly jolting red planet.

Scientists reported Monday that seismometer from InSight craft has detected scores of marsquakes.

A series of research papers focus on 174 marsquakes ted through last September. Twenty-four were relatively strong — magnitude 3 to 4 — and apparently stemmed from distant underground triggers. rest were smaller, with uncertain magnitude and origin. Even stronger quakes would t have posed a hazard to anybody on planet's surface, researchers said in a press conference.

overall tally has since jumped to more than 450 marsquakes, most of m small, InSight's lead scientist, Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in an email.

basic cause of Martian quakes is a long-term cooling of planet, which makes it contract, fracturing its brittle outer layers, Banerdt told reporters. But it's t clear what detailed mechanisms bring on specific quakes, he said.

While team cant rule out meteor impacts, source of tremors appears to be underground, according to researchers. Neverless, Mars-orbiting craft are on lookout for signs of recent impacts, and InSight's cameras scan night sky for meteors. So far, y've come up empty.

Banerdt said he had hoped to find more larger quakes, which are useful for probing deeper under planet's surface. In an email, he said "ar year of observations will be needed to complete goals of mission.”

This region has especially turbulent wear, with dust devil-like vortexes.

lander still has ar year of geologic observations for a total of two years, or one full Martian year. re likely are more quakes occurring than seismometer is registering; interference from wind and or wear conditions can mask measurements.

And while marsquakes with magnitudes greater than 4 have been detected, that doesn't mean y aren't occurring, according to Banerdt.

Banerdt describes Mars as moderately active from a seismic standpoint, more than moon but less than Earth. findings are close to initial predictions. moon's seismic activity is kwn thanks to instruments left behind a half-century ago by Apollo astronauts.

“Kwledge of level of seismic activity is crucial for investigating interior structure and understanding Mars’ rmal and chemical evolution,” Banerdt wrote in an overview article in Nature Geoscience. journal as well as Nature Communications feature four papers from InSight team.

Or key findings: first magnetic measurements from Martian surface show a local magnetic field that's 10 times stronger than detected from orbit, and wear instruments have found a surprisingly dynamic atmosphere around craft.

While French seismometer is exceeding expectations, a German-built probe has had trouble burrowing into Mars, barely penetrating a couple feet (50 centimeters). Scientists have t yet given up on mechanical mole, which keeps popping out of ground.

mole was supposed to bury 16 feet (5 meters) into Mars to measure planet's internal temperature.