Giant earthquake on Mars lasted 10 whole hours

It was five times larger than the previous record

The surface of Mars was rocked by the largest earthquake we have recorded on the Red Planet so far. In fact, it was also the longest we have recorded, since it lasted for 10 whole hours. However, the epicenter could not be located.

The energy released by this single earthquake is equivalent to the total energy of all other earthquakes we have recorded so far. – John Clinton, seismologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland

NASA’s InSight recorded a magnitude of 4.7, while the previous record was from August 2021 with 4.2. The number may not sound large by Earth’s data where the strongest recorded was 9.5 on the Richter scale, but don’t forget that we are talking about a planet that we thought was seismically inactive until InSight began recording it in 2019.

Mars does not have tectonic plates, nor does it have a single global magnetic field, which is taken as a sign that the interior of the planet is not particularly active. But the InSight data revealed that earthquakes do exist, indicating volcanic activity.

By analyzing the seismic waves, scientists try to understand the structure of the subsurface of Mars, identifying sedimentary rocks and possible volcanic activity within its crust. The fact that the epicenter of the new earthquake cannot be located suggests that it may be related to something hidden beneath the crust.

Also, the fact that this particular earthquake combined high and low frequencies has troubled scientists, since earthquakes on Mars usually belong to one or the other category.

The research was published in Geophysical Research Letters .