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Date: 4/23/2021

Session Time: 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM Pacific

Insight Seismology on Mars: Results From the First Martian Year of Data and Prospects for the Future

The InSight mission landed on Mars on 26 November 2018 and was the first to place an ultra-sensitive broadband seismometer on the surface of another planet. It will provide key information on the composition and structure of an Earth-like planet that has gone through most of the evolutionary stages of the Earth up to, but not including, plate tectonics. Using seismology, geodesy and heat flow measurement, InSight aims to determine the thickness and structure of the Martian crust and mantle, the size and state of the core, the planet’s thermal state and the level of tectonic activity and rate of meteorite impacts.

The two-year (one Mars year) InSight primary mission (with extension possible as the spacecraft continues to function on Mars) ushers in a new era in planetary seismology. In the coming years and decades NASA may launch missions to explore the interiors of our Moon, Venus and the “Ocean Worlds” of the Solar System (e.g., Europa, Enceladus and Titan). Other Space agencies might also launch additional missions with seismometers. While the focus of these mission concepts vary from fundamental geophysics to detection of life and conditions for life, seismological exploration of planetary bodies’ interiors is likely to play a key role in understanding planetary state and evolution by helping to determine their thermal and chemical make-up.

We invite contributions that take advantage of the seismic data from the first year on Mars, as well as modeling that looks forward to upcoming data from Mars or other planetary bodies. With data being made available through the IRIS Data Management Center, results from both within and outside the mission science team are welcome.

Conveners

Mark P. Panning, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (mark.p.panning@jpl.nasa.gov)
Sharon Kedar, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (sharon.kedar@jpl.nasa.gov)
Bruce Banerdt, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (william.b.banerdt@jpl.nasa.gov)

Oral Presentations