【Bhawri (2021) Hindi Web Series】

Mars isn't dead.

NASA announced on Bhawri (2021) Hindi Web SeriesThursday that its InSight lander, which probes for geological activity on Mars, recently recorded "two strong, clear quakes" in the same region where the lander previously observed two sizeable quakes in 2019. This points to a seismically active area on Mars — a place that looks bone-dry and devoid of life on its surface, but might be active below ground.

"The magnitude 3.3 and 3.1 temblors originated in a region called Cerberus Fossae, further supporting the idea that this location is seismically active," wrote NASA. The new quakes happened on March 7 and March 18.

(These are considered relatively light quakes on Earth, but they're definitely rumbles people can feel, depending on how close they are and how deep the quake strikes.)

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Cerberus Fossae is an area on Mars with steep-sided troughs cutting through ancient plains. Evidence of landslides abounds there, with boulders perhaps dislodged by recurring shaking.

The InSight lander's dome-shaped seismometer, called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). Credit: nasa Visible landslides on the steep slopes of Cerberus Fossae. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Univ. of Arizona

The InSight lander has recorded over 500 quakes so far (it landed in Nov. 2018), suggesting there may indeed be some volcanically active places in the Martian underground, perhaps hot molten rock (magma) moving and flowing like it does on Earth.

Underground magma may even have created the underground lake planetary scientists detected under Mars' South Pole in 2018. "You need a heat source," Ali Bramson, a scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, told Mashable in 2019.  "What could cause that heat source?" Bramson asked. "The only thing we could really come up with is an underground magma chamber that had to be active recently."

SEE ALSO: See where NASA just zapped this odd Martian rock with a laser

It's now prime time to record more Martian quakes. On Mars, the northern winter season can be profoundly windy, which rattles InSight's seismometer and can make detecting quakes impossible. But now the winds have quelled.

"It’s wonderful to once again observe marsquakes after a long period of recording wind noise," John Clinton, a seismologist on the InSight team, said in a statement.

• Shopping
• Life
• Social Good
• Games
• Deals
• Digital Culture
• Tech
• Entertainment

• I'm a college professor. My advice to young people who feel hooked on tech
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for March 18
• Trump slashed two national monuments but can't downsize national parks
• Elon Musk denies he is Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto
• Waitin’ on the Student Debt Jubilee
• Google and Fitbit are building an AI trainer to keep you fit and healthy
• Trump's top environment pick made some bonkers climate science claims
• Male dolphins also try and attract women with gifts, study finds
• The Best Gaming Concept Art of 2016
• What is cockfishing? Why some men lie about their size on dating apps

• A Love Letter from Guillaume Apollinaire, in the Trenches
• What Happened to “O”? The Death of an Exclamation
• China censors Olympic gold medalist's defense of China's internet censorship on Instagram
• Coming Soon: “The Unprofessionals,” A New Anthology
• Apple's iCloud.com becomes more customizable with updates to Photos, Mail, and more
• Courtesy Counts: A Story of Nail Clipping and the Subway
• Benjamin Moser on Clarice Lispector’s Complete Stories
• Sleep trackers suck in many ways. Here's what works.
• Save 20% sitewide on Tile trackers when you spend $75
• China Has Ripped Off Anish Kapoor’s “Bean” Sculpture

• Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
• Chinese zoo thought it was good enough to fill its penguin exhibit with inflatable ones
• The best fitness tracker deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale
• In NYC, uptown and downtown rats don’t mix
• Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
• Truecaller has an AI upgrade for Android users to block robocalls
• Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona 2024 livestream: Watch La Liga for free
• Anker Soundcore headphone deal: Get 50% off at Amazon
• Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
• Are dating apps getting too niche?

• What cracked the Milky Way's giant cosmic bone? Scientists think they know.
• The EPA's Scott Pruitt ignores the new U.S. climate science report
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for March 18
• Apple's iPad Pro could come with a matte display
• Bargaining For the Common Good
• NYT's The Mini crossword answers for March 19
• Tesla Autopark is getting a new name, and it's very LOTR
• 'Civil War' isn't out yet, but the internet is already going to war over it
• Amazon Pet Day: All the best deals
• Trump slurps shark fin soup as U.S. works to remove itself from the shark fin trade