By: Harper Dame
NASA has explored Mars territory since the summer of 1997 with Pathfinder lander and Sojourner. Since then, NASA has been sending landers and rovers to learn more about the Red Planet's atmosphere and geology, as well as search for extraterrestrial life. Last December, NASA’s InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake, which has the same magnitude as a level 4 earthquake. The magnitude of these quakes is measured on a scale of 1-10, meaning that a level 4 would be a mild to medium quake. However, these scientists did not know the cause until months later.
A meteoroid strike, estimated to be the largest seen since NASA’s exploration of the cosmos, is the determined cause of the marsquake. Marsquakes are different from earthquakes because on earth, quakes are caused by the shifting of tectonic plates (what’s that?). Tectonic plates are a series of plates located under Earth’s crust and make up the land that we stand on. These plates are constantly moving, but are only measured as earthquakes when it reaches a larger scale. Marsquakes are measured on a different scale. Rather than be measured on the Richter scale, it is measured on a specific spectral magnitude scale because some of the equipment needed to measure such forces are specific to the Red Planet’s atmosphere. When interpreting the results of both the earthquake and marsquake, the values are equal to each other. In other words, a level 2 marsquake is the same as a level 2 earthquake. Furthermore, a marsquake is caused by external forces (such as a meteoroid).
With data collected from the InSight lander and MRO, scientists have estimated that the meteoroid spanned between 5 and 12 meters (approximately 16 to 39 feet). If a meteoroid of the same size penetrated Earth’s atmosphere, it would have burned before hitting the surface. However, due to the thin atmosphere on Mars, which is 1% as dense as Earth, the meteoroid could not avoid impact.
The meteorites excavated boulder-sized chunks of ice buried closer to the Martian equator. This led to NASA's plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet. By using their MRO, or Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA was able to compare and contrast before and after impact images of the Red Planet. The meteoroid impacted an area called Amazonis Planitia, creating a crater that measures 150 meters across and 21 meters deep. Some of the ejecta, also known as Mars rock, flew 37 kilometers (approximately 23 miles) from the impact point. Many larger craters do exist on the surface of Mars. However, all of the craters predate all Mars missions. Ingrid Duabar of Brown University, lead of InSight’s Impact Science Working Group stated, "It's unprecedented to find a fresh impact of this size…It's an exciting moment in geologic history, and we got to witness it."
InSight was sent to study Mars's crust, mantle, and core. Seismic waves are a method to gain data on Mars (which are considered to be elastic). On Earth, they are produced by an earthquake and measured on the Richter scale. This also helped scientists determine the depth of the earth and its core, mantle, and crust. By using this knowledge, scientists can determine the core and density of Mars.
In conclusion, InSight is a lander that was sent by NASA to explore the surface of mars and to gain data about the geology and atmosphere of the Red Planet. This lander is solar-powered, and therefore it will be able to regenerate energy without a new battery. However, scientists have discovered that this spacecraft is predicted to shut down in late November or early December of 2022 due to the increasing buildup of dust on its solar panels.
Works Cited
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "NASA's InSight lander detects stunning meteoroid impact on
Mars." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 October 2022.