NASA scientists have reported an exciting discovery of the Mars Insight spacecraft – a mysterious rumble from within the planet.
Researchers believe that seismic events may be caused by a sudden release of energy from within the planet, but the nature of this release remains unknown and bewildering.
Interestingly, the new purr is believed to come from a site on Mars called Cerberus Fusae, where Two more events from the previous candidates It is believed to be a local.
Although these vibrations are sometimes referred to as “earthquakes on Mars,” the planet is not thought to have an active tectonic system similar to that of Earth that causes earthquakes.
Oddly enough, previous seismic events discovered by the Space Agency’s Insight spacecraft He reached the surface of the planet In 2018 – this happened about a year ago on Mars, or two years ago on Earth, during the northern summer of Mars.
Scientists expected that this season would provide the lander with the best chance to hear earthquakes because the winds on the planet would be quieter.
The InSight seismometer, called the Internal Structure Seismic Experiment (SEIS), is so sensitive that it must be covered with a dome-shaped screen to keep it out of the wind and prevent it from freezing when in use.
Despite this, the winds still caused enough vibration to mask the seismic signals they were looking for, so the NASA team began trying to isolate the sensitive cable.
To achieve this, the team deployed the shovel at the end of InSight’s robotic arm to deform the ground above the shield into a dome shape, allowing it to infiltrate the cable.
The intent is to allow the Earth to get as close to the shield as possible without interfering with its seal with Earth.
Researchers are learning to distinguish between seismic signals
Burying the seismic rope itself is one of the goals of the next phase of the mission, which NASA recently extended by two years until December 2022.
But despite the wind blowing from InSight’s seismograph, it doesn’t give much of a hand to the landing craft’s solar panels, which remain covered in dust.
Energy is now decreasing as Mars moves away from the sun, although energy levels are expected to increase after July when the planet begins to approach the sun again.
Until then, the team will turn off the InSight tools one by one so they can periodically hibernate and wake up just to check their health and send a message back to Earth.
NASA said the team hopes to run the seismometer for a month or two before shutting it down.