Measuring earthquakes on Mars

The NASA InSight mission, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is due to launch from California aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 12.05pm (BST) today (Saturday 5 May). Image credit: UK Space Agency Oxford University is to contribute to a new mission to Mars, which will be the first to study the heart of the Red Planet and measure 'Marsquakes' from its surface. The NASA InSight mission, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is due to launch from California aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 12.05pm (BST) today (Saturday 5 May). The InSight Lander will use cutting-edge instruments to delve beneath the surface and investigate the interior of Mars to improve our understanding of how such planets formed. It will also study tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars, both of which could provide valuable knowledge about these events on Earth. Scientists from Oxford's Department of Physics are working in collaboration with the UK Space Agency and Imperial College London to support one of the key instruments onboard: the short period Seismometer (SEIS-SP). This will be placed on the surface of Mars to detect seismic waves from Marsquakes and meteorite impacts.