The scientists are now reportedly trying to establish why exactly they have yet to detect a big tremor on the Red Planet.
While NASA’s InSight lander has detected several hundred quakes on Mars since landing on the planet in 2018, none of these seismic events exceeds magnitude 3.6, Business Insider reports.
According to the media outlet, the four biggest tremors spotted by the craft ranged from 3.1 to 3.6 in magnitude, with the majority of the quakes being “so quiet that the average Californian wouldn’t even notice them”.
The mission’s interest in Martian quakes reportedly stems from the intent to use them to glean more information about the planet’s interior, as really big quakes would’ve helped the scientists “see deep into the Martian core” and learn more about Mars’ origins and evolution.
Banerdt’s team now seeks to determine why they are yet to witness a big quake, to either establish why such phenomenon may be so rare on Mars or to learn how to look for these tremors, the media outlet adds.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
