Scientists have found the probable cause of an earthquake on Mars – research

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Scientists have found a possible explanation for the earthquake on Mars recorded in May 2022. They suggest that this may have occurred due to deformation in the cortex.

This was reported by Reuters with reference to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters.

The largest earthquake on Mars with a magnitude of 4.7 and a duration of 6 Earth hours occurred on May 4, 2022. It was captured by NASA’s InSight lander.

Earlier, scientists assumed that the cause of the earthquake was a meteorite impact. They came to this opinion due to the fact that on Mars there are no tectonic processes that create earthquakes on Earth.

Photo: magann/Depositphotos

However, scientists did not find a crater from the meteorite that should have remained from the impact.

“We conclude that the largest earthquake recorded by InSight was tectonic rather than impact. This is important because it shows that faults on Mars can host large earthquakes.” – says co-author of the study from the University of Oxford, Ben Fernando.

As scientists explain, earthquakes on Earth occur due to shifts in the lithospheric plates that make up the Earth’s crust. At the same time, the crust on Mars is a solid plate.

“There are still faults on Mars that are active. The planet is slowly shrinking and cooling, and there is movement in its crust, even though there are no more active tectonic processes. These faults can cause earthquakes.” Fernando explains.

In total, the InSight lander, which will be decommissioned in 2022, recorded 1,319 earthquakes over four years.

We will remind you that we previously wrote that the Mars rover Perseverance captured the “dust devil” on Mars.

Read also: Asteroids and “diamond rain”. What do you know about the solar system? TEST

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