The strongest earthquake ever documented on a planet other than Earth is of magnitude 5: detected on Mars last May 4 by NASA's Insight probe, it snatched the record from the 4.2 magnitude shock recorded on Mars on August 25, 2021. Yes thus extends the list of earthquakes (over 1,300) cataloged by Insight in the three and a half years of stay in the Elysium Planitia region to discover new information on the internal structure of the Red Planet.
The mission, which came alive in November 2018 with the lander's descent on the planet's surface, had an expected duration of two years which was then extended by the US space agency until December 2022. Now, however, the dust accumulated on the panels solar system of the lander is compromising the charging of the batteries: if it is not blown away by some Martian wind, it is possible that the mission will end early.
On May 17, NASA will hold a press conference to take stock of the situation.
Meanwhile, its technicians are continuing to analyze data from the latest record-breaking earthquake.
Although a magnitude 5 quake on Earth is considered to be of medium magnitude, on Mars it nearly touches the maximum value that scientists expected to see during the Insight mission.
After making a first estimate of the earthquake, the experts are deepening their investigations to better define some details such as the location and the mechanism at the origin of the quake.
"This earthquake will give us a view of the planet like no other," says Bruce Banerdt, head of Insight at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
"Scientists will analyze this data for years to come to learn new things about Mars."
