The seismic phenomenon lasted 90 minutes and had a magnitude of 4.2. Mars, NASA's InSight lander records a very long earthquake.
The stream of updates from the Red Planet shows no sign of abating: NASA is investigating Mars' features thanks to InSight Mars. Previously Perseverance, a rover, has collected a rock, to be transported at this point in the laboratories of scientists who will decipher every secret. The latest news, however, comes from the lander, which has recorded a seismic phenomenon very interesting.
How long and how powerful is the last earthquake recorded by NASA on Mars
The lander's measurements have made scientists on Earth aware of one of the strongest and longest earthquakes ever recorded on Mars. The event, which occurred on September 18, had a magnitude of 4.2 and shook the ground for an incredibly long time: an hour and a half.
This is not the only earthquake on Mars of which we have been made aware. But it is certainly the one, among all, that stands out for its length and power.
In the last month, for example, two have been recorded, both on August 25, whose length and power, however, was less when compared to the seismic phenomenon of the weekend. To get an idea of orders of magnitude, Saturday's earthquake is more than five times stronger than the previous earthquake-record, detected in 2019.
The lander is capable of detecting earthquakes even at very long distances. It happened when the earth, on Mars, shook on August 25: the lander realized that something was happening at a distance of 8,500 kilometers.
Thanks to earthquakes we were able to understand how the interior of Mars is made
Earthquakes seem a key element in order to decipher the mysterious ecosystem of the fourth planet of the Solar System. Thanks to them, in fact, NASA researchers have discovered what the heart of Mars looks like.
There is also a sigh of relief to be breathed: because a period of "press silence" has been provided between Mars and Earth, during which communications with Mars would be interrupted due to the interposition of the sun between the two planets with contiguous orbits.
The earthquake was detected on the 1,000th day of the lander's stay on Mars: in short, it was a really not bad anniversary present.
Giuseppe Giordano