NASA records strongest-ever marsquake with tremor at magnitude 5 on Richter scale

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - NASA's InSight spacecraft has recorded the strongest-ever marsquake since beginning its mission in November 2018 with a tremor of magnitude 5 on the Richter scale.

InSight with its highly sensitive seismometer detected the quake, "an estimated magnitude 5 temblor that occurred on May 4, 2022, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission," NASA said on Monday.

It is the strongest marsquake measured on the planet after one of estimated magnitude 4.2 was detected in August 2021.

"A magnitude 5 quake is a medium-size quake compared to those felt on Earth, but it’s close to the upper limit of what scientists hoped to see on Mars during InSight’s mission," it said.

A NASA spacecraft tasked with exploring the interior of Mars touched down on the planet's surface in November 2018 after a dangerous six-minute descent through the planet’s red-colored atmosphere.

The InSight mission is to study Mars' interior structure, including its crust, mantle, and core. The mission also measures tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars.