'Monster' Quake on Mars Is The Biggest Ever Recorded on Another Planet, NASA Says

In terms of earthquakes on the red planet, this is the biggest one recorded so far, and it is estimated to have hit magnitude 5.

Insight recorded a magnitude-4.2 marsquake on 25 August 2021. On May 4 of this year, the 1,222nd sol of the landers mission, there was a new earthquake on Mars.

Minor damage would be caused by a magnitude-5 earthquake. It is at the upper end of the size of earthquakes that scientists are discovering on Mars.

There is a full marsquake spectrogram. NASA/JPL-Caltech

We don't know what caused the marsquake or where it came from, but it's an interest for researchers. Insight has detected more than 1,300 earthquakes since landing.

Scientists hope to learn more about the planet's core, mantle, and crust by studying the waves that travel across Mars. Understanding how Mars formed in the first place should be informed by that.

Since we set our seismometer down in December of last year, we have been waiting for the big one.

The view into the planet will be provided by this quake. For years to come, scientists will be analyzing this data to learn new things about Mars.

marsquakes are more difficult to detect and can interfere with readings because of the wind. The seismometer that InSight is fitted with is highly sensitive.

Insight and its seismometer have already recorded and beamed back to Earth data that is thought to be from volcanic activity on Mars, and experts continue to identify new patterns in the data that Insight and its seismometer have already recorded and beamed back to Earth.

With that in mind, you can expect to hear more about the data collected by Insight on 4 May 2022, in the future, but for now it is clear that the quake is a record-breaker and way above average for what would normally be expected.

With the start of the Martian winter and increased levels of dust in the air, Insight is struggling to get enough sunlight to power its solar panels.

The machine has been put into safe mode for now. It may be some time before we hear from Insight again, as this hibernation shuts down all but the most essential functions.