What is a ‘marsquake’, and what causes it?

NASA's InSight lander has recently detected a quake on Mars, the largest ever observed on another planet.

About Marsquake:

The InSight rover first landed on Mars in November 2018, and has since heard 1,313 quakes.
A magnitude 5 quake shook the surface of Mars, the strongest temblor ever detected not only on Mars but on any planet besides Earth.
The marsquake surpassed the previous record-holder, a 4.2-magnitude quake that took place in August 2021.
On Earth, quakes are caused by shifts in tectonic plates. Mars, however, does not have tectonic plates, and its crust is a giant plate.
Therefore, NASA notes, ‘marsquakes’ are caused due to stresses that cause rock fractures or faults in its crust.

About InSight rover:

InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), is a Mars lander which is the first robotic explorer to study the crust, mantle and core of Mars.
The InSight rover has two primary science objectives:
to understand the formation and evolution of the terrestrial planet by investigating the interior structure and processes of Mars and
to determine the present level of tectonic activity and meteorite impact rate on the planet
Apart from helping learn how Mars was formed, understanding its patterns will also help prepare for human exploration of the planet.
It uses its instruments to dig deep beneath the surface of the red planet and seek the ‘fingerprints’ of the process that formed the planet.
To do this, it measures the planet’s “vital signs”: seismology, heat flow and precision tracking.

Do you know?

InSight is not looking for life on Mars, but is studying what Mars is made of, how its material is layered, and how much heat seeps out of it.
Some missions studying the possibility of life on Mars include UAE’s Hope, China’s Tianwen-1, and NASA’s Perseverance.