Scientists observe largest Mars-quake ever recorded

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Nasa’s Insight lander has recorded the largest quake ever observed on Mars and any planet other than Earth, a magnitude 5 quake that rumbled the Red Planet on 4 May. Nasa’s Insight lander has recorded 1,313 quakes since landing on the Red Planet in late 2018, the strongest of which prior to the 4 May tremor was a 4.2 magnitude quake recorded on 25 August 2021. Scientists will be analyzing this data to learn new things about Mars for years to come.” Equipped with a highly sensitive seismometer engineered by the French Centre National d’Études Spatiales, the Insight lander allows scientists to study the interior structure of the Red Planet. In July 2021, Insight scientists published results showing that Mars has a larger than expected core, for instance, having used the recordings of Mars quakes to build up a three dimensional picture of what lies beneath the Red Planet’s surface.