The largest earthquake ever detected on Mars lasted 6 hours
According to data from satellites orbiting Mars, a 4.7-magnitude earthquake occurred on the planet that lasted for 6 hours, marking it as the largest seismic event ever detected.
12punto
Scientists analyzing data from satellites orbiting Mars have announced that they have recorded the largest earthquake ever detected on the Red Planet.
It is stated that tectonic movements caused the 4.7-magnitude earthquake, which lasted for 6 hours.
Initially thought to have been caused by a meteor impact, it is now understood that the massive vibrations were due to tectonic activity beneath the surface.
''COLONIZING MARS''
Government and private space organizations such as NASA and SpaceX aim to send humans to colonize Mars, but there is still much we need to understand about the planet for this to be possible. An important part of this is identifying safe landing and living zones.
Scientists working on the project believe that the analysis of the earthquake could help them understand areas where humans can land and live safely, and show which regions should be avoided.
NO METEOR IMPACT FOUND
The search for the source of the earthquake, named 'S1222a', began after the event was recorded by NASA's InSight lander on May 4, 2022.
In the research, where all satellites orbiting the Red Planet collaborated on a single project for the first time, efforts were initially made to confirm an impact crater.
As reported by Euronews Turkish, no team, including the University of Oxford, which led the research, as well as the European Space Agency (ESA), the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA), and other contributors, could detect an impact crater or meteor effect.
Research lead Dr. Benjamin Fernando said, "We still think that Mars does not have active plate tectonics today, so this event was likely caused by the release of stress within Mars' crust." and added:
"These stresses are the result of billions of years of evolution, including the cooling and shrinking of different parts of the planet at different rates."
MUCH MORE SEISMIC ACTIVITY THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
Although researchers do not yet fully understand why some regions have more stress than others, they believe the information they have gathered could assist in human missions regarding "where it would be safe for humans to live on Mars and where to avoid".
It is stated that Mars has much more seismic activity than previously thought.
According to Michigan Technological University, earthquakes between 2.5 and 5.4 in magnitude occur about half a million times a year on Earth and are usually felt by people, but generally cause minor damage.
The potential damage such an earthquake could cause to human-made structures on Mars is currently being calculated.