Marslander InSight measures largest earthquake to date on Mars

The American space agency NASA reports that its Marslander InSight has measured the largest earthquake to date. According to NASA, InSight has measured an earthquake measuring a magnitude 5 on the Richter scale.

NASA’s Mars Lander Has measured the earthquake on May 4. It is the strongest earthquake that NASA has yet measured on a planet other than Earth. Marslander InSight has measured more than 1,300 quakes on Mars. The strongest reading for the May 4 earthquake occurred on August 25 last year. Then there was an earthquake measuring a magnitude 4.2 on the Richter scale.

source NASA: Spectogram of the earthquake on May 4

NASA hoped to capture a quake of this magnitude during the mission of the Marslander InSight. According to the space agency, the data obtained could provide new insights about the red planet.

Marslander InSight’s mission began in 2018. InSight was sent to Mars for soil research. The planned mission was completed in 2020 and extended to 2022. The question is how long InSight can remain active, because the solar panels with which the Marslander is equipped are becoming increasingly covered with dust. Therefore, at some point, the InSight will run out of power and shut itself down.