On May 5, 2018, NASA launched the InSight probe, whose main mission is to study earthquakes on Mars, in an attempt to unravel the mystery of planet formation and prepare for possible human exploration missions on the red planet. After a flight of several months, the probe arrived on November 26, 2018. Since then, the robot has recorded more than 1,300 earthquakes that have taken place on the red planet thanks to an ultra-sensitive seismometer.
On May 4, NASA revealed that it had detected “the most powerful earthquake ever recorded on Mars”. Rated at a magnitude of 5, it beats the previous record which was around 4.2 in August. While this magnitude is considered “average” on Earth, it is not far from the maximum magnitude of an earthquake that scientists hoped to discover on Mars. “Since December 2018, we have been waiting for this big earthquake. It will allow us to better dive into the heart of the planet. Scientists will now analyze this data to learn more about Mars for years to come,” said Bruce Banerdt, InSight project leader.
To immerse you as much as possible in the bowels of the red planet, the Cnes (National Center for Space Studies) has unveiled the impressive noise coming from the earthquake.