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May 11 (UPI) -- NASA's state-of-the-art equipment that's sitting on the surface of Mars has detected the most powerful earthquake ever recorded on the Red Planet -- or any other world away from the Earth, for that matter. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said that the InSight Mars lander measured the "monster" marsquake -- which was a 5.0-magnitude temblor.
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The InSight lander, which has been on Mars since late 2018, has a highly sensitive seismometer to study the deep interior of the planet. The previous record-holder was a 4.2-magnitude quake that occurred last August.
Scientists said that the new strong quake was measured on May 4 -- 1,222 Martian days, or sols, since the lander has been there.
"Since we set our seismometer in December 2018, we've been waiting for 'the big one,'" Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL, said in a statement.
"This quake is sure to provide a view into the planet like no other. Scientists will be analyzing this data to learn new things about Mars for years to come."
As seismic waves pass through or reflect off material in Mars' crust, mantle and core, they change in ways that seismologists can study to determine the depth and composition of those layers, scientists said.
"What scientists learn about the structure of Mars can help them better understand the formation of all rocky worlds, including Earth and its Moon," NASA said in a statement.
"The science team will need to study this new quake further before being able to provide details such as its location, the nature of its source, and what it might tell us about the interior of Mars.
The InSight lander is part of NASA's Discovery program, which is exploring detailed facts about the Red Planet.
