NASA's InSight Mars lander has detected the largest ever monster quake on the Red Planet. The quake estimated to be of magnitude 5 occurred on May 4, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission, NASA said in a statement. This adds to the catalogue of more than 1,313 quakes InSight has detected since landing on Mars in November 2018. The largest previously recorded quake was an estimated magnitude 4.2 detected on August 25, 2021. "WOW! @NASAInSight's team & partners just received preliminary data from Mars on what's believed to be the largest seismic activity ever recorded on another planet!" NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen said in a tweet on Tuesday. "Preliminary estimate: Magnitude 5 event," he added. The InSight lander arrived on Mars on November 26, 2018, touching down in Elysium Planitia, the second largest volcanic region on the Red Planet.
While Mars has been the target of numerous planetary science missions, the InSight mission is the first to specifically measure the subsurface using seismic methods. Although a magnitude 5 quake is a medium-size quake compared to those felt on Earth, it's close to the upper limit of what scientists hoped to see on Mars during InSight's mission. The science team will study this new quake further before being able to provide details such as its location, the nature of its source, and what it might tell us about the interior of Mars. "Since we set our seismometer down in December 2018, we've been waiting for 'the big one'," said Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California which leads the mission, in the statement. "This quake is sure to provide a view into the planet like no other. Scientists will be analysing this data to learn new things about Mars for years to come," he added.
The lander carries a highly sensitive seismometer, provided by France's Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), to study the deep interior of the planet. As seismic waves pass through or reflect off material in Mars' crust, mantle, and core, they change in ways that seismologists can study to determine the depth and composition of these layers. What scientists learn about the structure of Mars can help them better understand the formation of all rocky worlds, including Earth and its Moon. Meanwhile, the large quake comes as InSight is facing new challenges with its solar panels, which power the mission. As InSight's location on Mars enters winter, there's more dust in the air, reducing available sunlight. On May 7, the lander's available energy fell just below the limit that triggers safe mode, where the spacecraft suspends all but the most essential functions. This reaction is designed to protect the lander and may occur again as available power slowly decreases. The lander completed its prime mission at the end of 2020, meeting its original science goals, but NASA extended the mission through December 2022.