【】
Mars is alive. (Geologically.)
NASA recently reported that its InSight lander — sent to observe geologic activity beneath the Martian surface — recorded one of its biggest quakes yet on Sept. 18. The 4.2 temblor, a quake that would have been big enough for people to feel had it happened on Earth, lasted an hour-and-a-half.
NASA said the event was "one of the biggest, longest-lasting marsquakes the mission has ever detected."
The agency also noted that the 4.2 quake was the third "major" quake InSight has observed in the last month. Both a 4.2 and 4.1 magnitude quake hit on Aug. 25.
Tweet may have been deletedThe InSight lander's seismometer is covered by a protective dome.Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
InSight landed on Mars in Nov. 2018, so planetary scientists are still observing how geologically active Mars truly is. The solar-powered lander has observed hundreds of quakes, suggesting there might be volcanically active places in the Martian underground, perhaps hot molten rock (magma) moving and flowing like it does on Earth.
Though NASA researchers are still studying the recent September quake, they've found the August marsquakes occurred far off, much farther than where the other quakes originated in the plains of Cerberus Fossae.
"One especially intriguing possibility is Valles Marineris, the epically long canyon system that scars the Martian equator," wrote NASA. That's some 6,000 miles from InSight.
SEE ALSO:If a scary asteroid will actually strike Earth, here's how you'll knowNASA engineers used a clever strategy to keep the seismometer on and recording quakes in recent months. Mars' orbit has taken it farther from the sun, and dust had covered InSight's solar panels. This meant there was insufficient sunlight to power the entire machine. So NASA directed InSight's robotic arm to "trickle" sand near a solar panel, thinking wind would sweep sand granules over the panel and remove dust.
The plan worked. And InSight recorded some major Martian quakes.
Related video: Mars will kill you in ways you'd never imagine
相关文章
WhatsApp announces plans to share user data with Facebook
Big changes are coming to WhatsApp. 。On Thursday, WhatsApp announced in a blog post it will begin sha2024-09-20- 國足管理模式恐現重大變化 李霄鵬火線上任助手團隊尚不明確_李鐵辭任 李霄鵬出任男足主帥_足協:聘任李霄鵬擔任國足主帥_工作www.ty42.com 日期:2021-12-04 08:31:00| 評論2024-09-20
- 巴頓:入選國足讓自己信心提升 希望津門虎盡早保級_比賽_維吉諾維奇_感覺www.ty42.com 日期:2021-12-05 09:31:00| 評論(已有317707條評論)2024-09-20
- 比賽日:希克大四喜勒沃庫森7-1 聖徒1-1布萊頓_禁區_破門_霍芬海姆www.ty42.com 日期:2021-12-05 09:31:00| 評論(已有317710條評論)2024-09-20
Tributes flow after death of former Singapore president S.R. Nathan
The Singaporean government has announced that former president, 92-year-old Sellapan Ramanathan (wid2024-09-20- 人生贏家!《法國足球》曬梅西全家與七座金球合影_Ciro_馬特奧_蒂亞戈www.ty42.com 日期:2021-12-04 15:01:00| 評論(已有317599條評論)2024-09-20
最新评论