The massive earthquake that shook Mars last year, the Martian Earthquake, had an unexpected cause that surprised astrophysicists around the world. They suspected a meteorite impact. Instead, huge tectonic movements within Mars’ crust caused vibrations that lasted for six hours, causing earthquakes rather than meteorite impacts. Here are the findings: The study was published Oct. 17 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
[Related: Two NASA missions combined forces to analyze a new kind of marsquake.]
NASA’s Insight Lander recorded A huge earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 occurred on May 4, 2022., scientists named it S1222a. The seismic signal was similar to that of past earthquakes caused by meteorite impacts, so the researchers began searching for the impact crater.
inside new research, a team from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, the Chinese National Space Agency, the Indian Space Research Organization and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency, explored more than 55 million square miles of Mars. Each group examined data from their respective satellites, looking for craters, dust clouds, or other signs of a meteorite impact. After a fruitless search, they now believe that S1222a was caused by a huge tectonic movement from inside Mars.
That doesn’t mean Mars’ plates are moving the same way they do during earthquakes. The best available evidence suggests that the Earth remains stationary. Study co-author Benjamin Fernando, a planetary geophysicist at the University of Oxford, said: “We still think there is no active plate tectonics on Mars, so this event could be a sign of stress in the Martian crust. It was likely caused by the release,” said study co-author Benjamin Fernando, a planetary geophysicist at the University of Oxford. stated in a statement. “These stresses are the result of billions of years of evolution, including different parts of the Earth cooling and shrinking at different rates.”
Fernando explains that scientists don’t fully understand why some parts of Mars appear to be more stressful than others, but these results are a good idea for further research. Could be helpful. “One day, this information could help us understand where on Mars it is safe for humans to live and where they should avoid living,” he said.
S1222a was one of the last events recorded by NASA’s InSight mission before it ended.of Insight The lander was launched in May 2018, survived “seven minutes of terror,” landed on Mars, and spent many years studying the planet’s interior and seismology. The spacecraft’s last data was returned in December 2022 due to increased dust accumulation on its solar panels. Insight To lose power.
[Related: InSight says goodbye with what may be its last wistful image of Mars.]
among them 4 years and 19 days of service, InSight recorded more than 1,300 earthquakes.at least Eight of these events were due to meteorite impactsthe two largest craters were approximately 500 feet in diameter; If the S1222a event was formed by an impact, the researchers estimate that the crater would have been at least 984 feet in diameter.
The team is applying the knowledge gained from this study to other studies, including future missions to the Moon and Earth. Tectonics similar to California’s famous San Andreas Fault It is located on one of Saturn’s moons named Titan. They also hope this will spur further large-scale international cooperation to study Mars and beyond.
“This was a great opportunity for me to collaborate with the InSight team and people from other major missions dedicated to studying Mars,” says study co-author Dimitra Atri, an astrophysicist at New York University Abu Dhabi. said in a statement. “Now is the golden age of Mars exploration!”
