Resonances of the InSight Seismometer on Mars

Kenneth Hurst (1) , Lucile Fayon (2) , Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun (3) , Cedric Schmelzbach (4) , Martin van Driel (5) , Joan Ervin (1) , Sharon Kedar , William Pike , Simon Calcutt , Tristram Warren , Constantino Charalambous (6) , Alexander Stott (7) , Marco Bierwirth , Philippe Lognonné (2) , Sebastien de Raucourt (8) , Taoufik Gabsi , Tanguy Nebut (9) , Oliver Robert (10, 11) , Sylvain Tillier (12) , Savas Ceylan , Maren Böse , John Clinton , Domenico Giardini , Anna Horleston , Taichi Kawamura , Amir Khan , Guenole Orhand-Mainsant , John-Robert Scholz , Simon Stähler , Jennifer Stevanovic , William Banerdt

1 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
2 IPGP (UMR_7154) - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
3 Universität zu Köln = University of Cologne
4 ETH Zürich - Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich]
5 Institute of Geophysics [ETH Zürich]
6 DEEE - Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering [London]
7 ISAE-SUPAERO - Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace
8 IPG Paris - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
9 IPGP - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
10 ICJ - Institut Camille Jordan [Villeurbanne]
11 CTN - Combinatoire, théorie des nombres
12 IPGP - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

ABSTRACT The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) seismometer was deployed to the surface of Mars in December 2018–February 2019. The specific deployment conditions, which are very different from those of a standard broadband instrument on the Earth, result in resonances caused by different parts of the sensor assembly (SA) that are recorded by the seismometer. Here, we present and characterize the resonances known to be present in the SA and their causes to aid interpretation of the seismic signals observed on Mars. Briefly, there are resonances in the SA at about 2.9, 5.3, 9.5, 12, 14, 23–28, and 51 Hz. We discuss various methods and tests that were used to characterize these resonances, and provide evidence for some of them in data collected on Mars. In addition to their relevance for the high frequency analysis of seismic data from InSight, specifically for phase measurements near the resonant frequencies, the tests and observations described here are also of potential use in the further development of planetary seismometers, for example, for Mars, the Moon, or Europa.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

Kenneth Hurst, Lucile Fayon, Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun, Cedric Schmelzbach, Martin van Driel, et al.. Resonances of the InSight Seismometer on Mars. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 2021, 111 (6), pp.2951-2963. ⟨10.1785/0120210137⟩. ⟨hal-03917213⟩