There are many mysteries in the cosmos, but at least one of them may be closer to a solution. Researchers may now have some clues as to how Mars was formed thanks to data from NASA’s InSight spacecraft. The information pertains to the rock and soil on the planet’s surface, with some seismic activity on the Red Planet providing some clues as to what lies beneath the surface of one of the most interesting and mysterious planets in the solar system.
According to Science Magazine, (through IGN), researchers studying the InSight spacecraft have been able to detect boundaries in rock tens and hundreds of miles below the Earth’s crust. That crust also turns out to be quite thin, and the planet’s mantle also turns out to be a cooler temperature than the molten iron core of Mars suggests. What is interesting about this information is that it suggests that what is now the planet Mars has cooled itself by the use of plate tectonics with a pattern of “mantle rock upwelling and receding crust.”
The data also revealed that Mars may have a much thinner crust than what we have on Earth, and the red planet may also be made up of two or three different layers. Researchers need more data to further develop their theories and findings, something that has proven to be a bit of a challenge so far. The data comes from seismic activity on the planet, but the wind on the planet has made it difficult to detect seismic activity. Dust on the solar panels has also forced the team to disable the craft’s robotic arm, which they must use to attempt to push a heat probe further into the surface. The heat probe became trapped in soil that was expected to crumble when the probe was inserted. Mars has also thwarted the process a bit in terms of the strength of its “marsquakes”. The report indicated that there had been no more than a magnitude of 4.5, which is a bit unusual, although it can be attributed to several factors, including the size of Mars’ faults and also the consistency of the Earth’s crust.
Still, researchers hope they will get lucky and get a lot more information.
“We’re looking forward to another batch of event detections,” said Bruce Banerdt, InSight’s lead researcher and a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
What do you think of this new information about Mars? Let us know in the comments.