Did the Viking 2 lander detect marsquakes in 1976?
New analysis shows that 2 possible marsquakes detected by Viking 2 were in the same region as nearly 1,000 others detected by the InSight lander decades later. The post Did the Viking 2 lander detect marsquakes in 1976? first appeared on EarthSky .
In 1976, NASA's Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars in Utopia Planitia and detected two potential marsquakes, though scientists were unable to confirm these findings at the time. A new analysis by NASA's InSight lander, which landed in 2018, suggests that one of these Viking 2 detections may have been an actual marsquake. The InSight mission identified nearly 1,000 marsquakes, some of which were located in the same region as the Viking 2 events.
While the two landers used different instruments and had varying methods of data collection, scientists believe the differences in their findings can be attributed to variations in instrument response and sampling strategy. The new study provides valuable insights into the seismic history of Mars by comparing data from both missions.
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