Martian probe records an hour-and-a-half-hour Martian earthquake

March is living. (Geologically.)

NASA recently reported that its InSight lander – sent to observe geological activity beneath the Martian surface – recorded one of its biggest earthquakes yet on September 18. Earth, lasted a an hour and a half.

NASA said the event was “one of the largest and longest lasting earthquakes the mission has ever detected.”

The agency also noted that Earthquake 4.2 was the third “major” earthquake InSight observed last month. A 4.2 and 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck on August 25.

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InSight landed on Mars in November 2018, so planetologists are still watching how geologically active Mars is. The solar-powered lander has observed hundreds of earthquakes, suggesting that there may be volcanically active places in the Martian subsoil, possibly hot molten rock (magma) moving and s’ flowing like on Earth.

Although NASA researchers are still studying the recent September earthquake, they found that the August earthquakes occurred far, much further away than where the other earthquakes originated from the Cerberus Fossae Plains.

“One particularly intriguing possibility is Valles Marineris, the epic canyon system that marks the Martian equator,” wrote NASA. It’s about 6,000 miles from InSight.

NASA engineers have used a smart strategy to keep the seismometer on and record earthquakes over the past few months. Mars’ orbit has pulled it away from the sun, and dust has blanketed InSight’s solar panels. This meant that there was not enough sunlight to power the whole machine. NASA therefore directed InSight’s robotic arm to “sink” sand near a solar panel, believing that the wind would sweep the sand granules on the panel and remove the dust.

The plan worked. And InSight has recorded major Martian earthquakes.