The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) mission arrives on Mars in November 2018. In anticipation of its arrival, a group of researchers led by Dr. Ana-Catalina Plesa have focused on the seismic experiments, which aim to probe the distribution of seismicity across Mars. They have conducted a series of numerical models based on convective stresses associated with cooling and planetary contraction. Their estimates place the total seismicity on Mars somewhere between that of the Earth and the Moon. If InSight shows higher seismicity values, it could have significant implications about the heat flow and tectonic activity that Mars is currently experiencing. READ MORE »