September 22, 2022
By Aazam
InSight detects seismic and acoustic waves from meteorites and calculates location of craters – the first such measurements outside Earth
Scientists are now gaining a fuller understanding of this Martian trait, with help from NASA’s robotic InSight lander
They landed between 53 miles (85km) and 180 miles (290km) from InSight’s location. One exploded into at least three pieces that each gouged their own craters
InSight detected seismic and acoustic waves from when four meteorites hit its surface and then calculated the location of the craters they left – the first such measurements anywhere other than Earth
The researchers used observations from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in space to confirm the crater’s locations
The researchers believe that now the seismic signature of such crashes has been discovered; they expect to find more contained in InSight’s data, going back to 2018
InSight’s seismometer instrument established that Mars is seismically active, detecting more than 1,300 quakes on the planet