400 Marsquakes detected by UK sensors in one year

The NASA InSight lander, which is supported by the UK Space Agency, has recorded 400 likely 'Marsquakes' in the first year of its mission. The seismic vibrations on Mars were detected by a set of silicon sensors developed in the UK for InSight's Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). Imperial College London, Oxford University, University of Bristol and STFC RAL Space worked in partnership, with £4 million in funding from the UK Space Agency, to develop three sensors which are sensitive enough to detect motion at sub-atomic scales. Dr Neil Bowles, from the University of Oxford's Department of Physics , said: The measurement of the first events from the surface of Mars by InSight are showing that the planet is still seismically active.' As InSight continues to monitor the planet over the next year, we are working with our colleagues on the mission team to help understand the interior and atmosphere of the planet in a completely new way. Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: 'Detecting hundreds of Marsquakes on a planet 140 million miles from Earth, using sensors developed in the UK, is an important achievement. 'This is an example of how world-leading UK science and our growing space sector contribute to international missions, furthering human understanding of the Solar System.' The NASA Insight mission is the first to look deep beneath the Martian surface and detected the first ever recorded Marsquake on 6 April 2019. By the end of last year it was detecting an average of two quakes every day.