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InSight is the first planetary mission dedicated to exploring the whole interior of a planet using geophysical methods, specifically seismology and geodesy. To this end, we observed seismic waves of distant marsquakes and inverted for interior models using differential travel times of phases reflected at the surface (PP, SS...) or the core mantle-boundary (ScS), as well as those converted at crustal interfaces. Compared to previous orbital observations1-3, the seismic data added decisive new insights with consequences for the formation of Mars: The global average crustal thickness of 24-75 km is at the low end of pre-mission estimates5. Together with the the thick lithosphere of 450-600 km5, this requires an enrichment of heat-producing elements in the crust by a factor of 13-20, compared to the primitive mantle. The iron-rich liquid core is 1790-1870 km in radius6, which rules out the existence of an insulating bridgmanite-dominated lower mantle on Mars. The large, and therefore low-density core needs a high amount of light elements. Given the geochemical boundary conditions, Sulfur alone cannot explain the estimated density of ~6 g/cm3 and volatile elements, such as oxygen, carbon or hydrogen are needed in significant amounts. This observation is difficult to reconcile with classical models of late formation from the same material as Earth. We also give an overview of open questions after three years of InSight operation on the surface of Mars, such as the potential existence of an inner core or compositional layers above the CMB

The instrument package SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) with the two co-located seismometers VBB and SP is installed on the surface of Mars as part of NASA's InSight mission. When compared to terrestrial installations, SEIS is deployed in a very harsh wind and temperature environment that leads to inevitable degradation of the quality of the recorded data. The daily atmospheric temperature variations of approx. 80K are attenuated by different insulation layers to approx. 15K peak-to-peak at the sensor level. Typical wind speeds vary between 0 and 5 m/s leading to a diurnal variation in the broad-band rms noise level by two orders of magnitude. One ubiquitous artifact in the raw broad-band data is an abundance of one-sided, transient pulses often accompanied by high-frequency spikes. We show that these pulses, which we term "glitches", can be modeled as the response of the instrument to a step in acceleration, while the spikes can be modeled as the response to a simultaneous step in displacement. We attribute the glitches primarily to intermittent stress relaxation events internal to SEIS caused by the large diurnal temperature variations to which the instrument is exposed during a Martian sol. Only a small fraction of glitches correspond to a motion of the SEIS package as a whole caused by minuscule tilts of the instrument. Whilst such kind of data disturbances are typically discarded when occurring in terrestrial data, this is no option for the data returned from the Red Planet. We therefore do not only demonstrate their effects on the seismic data and analyze their origins, but also propose algorithms that are able to detect and remove many of these (mostly) non-seismic signals. We further published our codes (both Python and MATLAB) so that interested researchers can make their own choices on how to treat the data and to which extent.

Planetary crusts are the results of mantle differentiation, so their thickness provides important constraints on the thermochemical evolution of a planet, including its heat budget and mantle rheology. Information on crustal layering and seismic velocities can also provide important constraints on porosity and geochemistry of the crust. Here, we use data from the InSight mission, which landed in November 2018, to provide seismological constraints on the crustal layering and thickness of Mars for the first time. Results are mainly based on Ps-receiver functions from three events with magnitudes between 3.1 and 3.6 at distances between 27.5° and 47° (±10°) from the lander, originating in the Cerberus Fossae region, the only events, so far, with clear, impulsive P-wave onsets and known epicenter. Ps-receiver functions use converted phases in the P-wave coda to derive information on discontinuities beneath the seismometer. Due to the limited number of events and the small epicentral distance range covered, inversions of the data are still ambiguous. Two sets of models can explain the waveforms, one consisting of a two-layer crust of about 20 to 23 km thickness, the other having a three-layer crust of about 40 to 45 km thickness. By excluding crustal thicknesses in excess of 45 km at the landing site, we can constrain the global average crustal thickness of Mars to be less than 70 km. Both model types also agree with S-receiver functions for two events and seismic P-waves reflected in the crust and extracted from autocorrelations using the coda of different types of marsquakes as well as the background wavefield. Furthermore, the results are compatible with independently conducted moment tensor inversions for a limited number of events as well as modeling of the wave-propagation of high-frequency events. We find low seismic P-wave velocities below 3.4 km/s within the upper approximately 10 km, likely indicating a high porosity. For the Moon, we present Sp-receiver functions for three Apollo landing sites, including the first application of this method to Apollo 15 and 16 data. Data are compatible with a two-layer crust beneath a thin, low-velocity regolith layer and a crustal thickness of 35 to 45 km, with an increased thickness at the Apollo 15 and 16 sites compared to the Apollo12 location.

AGU Fall Meeting 2019 in San Francisco , 9-13 December 2019, EIS/InSIght team, InSight is the first planetary mission with a seismometer package, SEIS, since the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package. SEIS is complimented by APSS, which has as a goal to document the atmospheric source of seismic noise and signals. Since June 2019, SEIS has been delivering 6 axis 20 sps continuous seismic data, a rate one order of magnitude larger originally planned. More than 50 events have been detected by the end of July 2019 but only three have amplitudes significantly above the SEIS instrument requirement. Two have clear and coherent arrivals of P and S waves, enabling location, diffusion/attenuation characterization and receiver function analysis. The event¿s magnitudes are likely ¿ 3 and no clear surface waves nor deep interior phases have been identified. This suggests deep events with scattering along their final propagation paths and with large propagation differences as compared to Earth and Moon quakes. Most of the event¿s detections are made possible due to the very low noise achieved by the instrument installation strategy and the very low VBB self-noise. Most of the SEIS signals have amplitudes of spectral densities in the 0.03-5Hz frequency bandwidth ranging from 10-10 m/s2/Hz1/2 to 5 10-9 m/s2/Hz1/2. The smallest noise levels occurs during the early night, with angstrom displacements or nano-radian tilts. This monitors the elastic and seismic interaction of a planetary surface with its atmosphere, illustrated not only by a wide range of SEIS signals correlated with pressure vortexes, dust devils or wind activity but also by modulation of resonances above 1 Hz, amplified by ultra-low velocity surface layers. After about one half of a Martian year, clear seasonal changes appear also in the noise, which will be discussed. One year after landing, the seismic noise is therefore better and better understood, and noise correction techniques begun to be implemented, either thanks to the APSS wind and pressure sensors, or by SEIS only data processing techniques. These data processing techniques open not only the possibility of better signal to noise ratio of the events, but are also used for various noise auto-correlation techniques as well as searches of long period signals. Noise and seismic signals on Mars are therefore completely different from what seismology encountered previously on Earth and Moon.