NASA reported on 23 April 2019 that the Mars InSight lander has measured and recorded for the first time ever a likely “marsquake.”
The faint seismic signal, detected by the lander’s Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument, was recorded on April 6, the lander’s 128th Martian day, or sol. This is the first recorded trembling that appears to have come from inside the planet, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind. Scientists still are examining the data to determine the exact cause of the signal.
At LBI, we are so proud to be part of this new discovery and the team to develop such a state of the art instrument.
This SEIS seismometer contains parts made of our special alloys EXIUM® AM and ALUSiC®.
The EXIUM® AM is a material with very high damping properties. The particular chemistry and exclusive centrifugal casting process gives EXIUM® AM special damping properties between –15°C and 50°C. Outside this range, it acts like normal cast iron.
It reaches similar damping values to Nylon or polypropylene and dampens 10 times more than a laminar graphite cast iron, which is widely recognized and used for its damping properties.
Damping properties (ambient temperature)
- tg φ ≈ 1,80.10-2 (so 2π sin φ ≈ 11,30.10-2)
Absorption of the different vibrations: - Longitudinal mode (4,6K Hertz), tg φ = 1,51.10-2
- Flexion mode (240 Hertz), tg φ = 1,75.10-2
- Torsion mode (2,7K Hertz), tg φ = 0,82.10-2
Mechanical properties:
- E > 240 MPa – R > 520 MPa – A > 30 %
- Young E Module : 80 GPa
- Torsion Module G : 34 GPa
- Poisson’s coefficient: 0,25
