Mars is full of subtle sounds and thanks to NASA's InSight mission, we're finally able to hear them
The stationary probe's seismometer, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, is sensitive enough to pick up the most gentle of vibrations. The seismometer has been listening out for earthquakes on Mars. Seismic activity can paint a picture of the interior of a planet and how it was formed, which is one of InSight's main objectives for Mars. InSight landed on Mars in November 2018 and placed the seismometer on the Martian surface in February.
's InSight mission 'hears' first quake on MarsIt's a seismic signal that was recorded April 6, and by all indications, the InSight team believes this sound is a quake from within the planet rather than something on the surface. But the signal was at a high frequency and nothing like it has been produced since. InSight has detected more than 100 events since April and the researchers estimate 21 of them could be quakes.
shared some recordings of rumblings captured in May and July. Both occurred below the human range of hearing, but were processed so we could hear them. The May quake had a magnitude of 3.7 and the July quake reached 3.3Mars doesn't have tectonic plates, which are the cause of quakes on Earth. Martian quakes are caused by cooling and contraction, which create stress fractures on the crust.
just heard the first sounds of wind on Mars. You can hear them, too. "It's been exciting, especially in the beginning, hearing the first vibrations from the lander," said Constantinos Charalambous, an InSight science team member at Imperial College London."You're imagining what's really happening on Mars as InSight sits on the open landscape."When the InSight arm moves, friction can be heard in the seismometer, producing intriguing sounds.
's InSight mission catches Martian sunrise and sunsetIn one of the sound samples, a strange whistling can also be heard. The researchers think there is interference with the electronics in the seismometer. InSight, or Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a two-year mission to explore a part of Mars that we know the least about: its deep interior.
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