Mars is a seismically active world, first results from NASA's InSight lander reveal

[Admin]

The first science returns from NASA's InSight Mars lander reveal a seismically active Red Planet.

Mars is a seismically active world, first results from NASA's InSight lander reveal : Read more

 

[rod]

The first science returns from NASA's InSight Mars lander reveal a seismically active Red Planet.

Mars is a seismically active world, first results from NASA's InSight lander reveal : Read more

The article stated, "But that activity is quite different from what we're used to on Earth, where most quakes are caused by tectonic plates sliding against, over or under each other. Mars doesn't have active plate tectonics, the researchers said, so both types of quakes are caused by the long-term cooling of the planet since its formation 4.5 billion years ago. "As the planet cools, it contracts, and then the brittle outer layers then have to fracture in order to sort of maintain themselves on the surface," Banerdt said. "That's kind of the long-term source of stresses."

Interesting report. Cooling rates of planets and calculating their ages is tricky work, namely how long it takes the planet to cool down. Lord Kelvin used heat and cooling rate to calculate the age of the Earth, this age was much younger than the radiometric age of meteorites used in 1955 by Clair Patterson who established the current age of the Earth used in science today. Lord Kelvin and the Age of the Earth

 

[Peter Evans]

In other words, radiation from the sun and the change in orbit is causing expansion and contraction of the outer mantle resulting in vibrations detected by the surface machine used. The "scientist", so desperate to think of Mars as being "earthlike" is working very hard to attribute it to internal activity, for which there is zero evidence. As this is not mentioned in the article whatsoever, we now know closer to what the truth is, a fundamental principle of science.

 

[Stephen J. Bauer]

All celestial mass bodies have the ability to generate quakes, even the Earth's Moon. The larger the mass body, the greater the chance for quakes. The Earth alone averages tens of thousands of earthquakes, of varying intensities, each year. These quakes are the result of its consistent force of gravitational acceleration on the mass, whose intensity is based on its mass density. The greatest gravitational force is expressed from within the center of mass, where the density is the greatest. Increase the density of a mass and you increase the probability for quakes. A spinning mass provides for an even greater probability of quakes, as the varying stratified layers of the mass are massaged into place as the mass body attempts to adapt to the gravitational forces being applied to it. Mars is no different in any of these respects relevant to its gravitational center of mass.
As a side note, the architectural design for a martian research station takes advantage of the spherical shape. The spherical design results in highly efficient and effective air circulation when either facing towards or away from the sun. Less surface area makes these buildings less susceptible to temperature changes, and thus, inexpensive to heat and cool as compared to rectangular structures. Per the NASA paper 'The Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century, volume 1', the structural integrity of this spherical design increases in a low gravity environment. This is a great advantage for surviving martian quakes may be rhythmically longer in duration than earthquakes.

As science fiction imitates science fact, you can gain a greater appreciation of what it would be like to build and live on the moon through reading the epic novel, ‘Shadow-Forge Revelations’.