Researchers may have ideas about how Mars came to be

A Mars lander may have found clues to the formation of the red planet billions of years ago. According to Science Mag, researchers studying NASA’s InSight spacecraft, which landed on the surface of Mars two years ago, have finally been able to discover some hints of boundaries in the rock tens and hundreds of miles below the Earth’s crust, which they say is surprisingly thin. The team also found that the mantle’s temperature was lower than expected, despite the planet’s molten iron core.

These new discoveries about the interior of Mars have led the team to believe that the planet once cooled itself by means of a type of plate tectonics, following a pattern of “rising mantle rock and receding crust” that led to Mars dissipating heat efficiently. A scientist not involved in the mission said these findings may provide evidence of “much more dynamic crusting in the early days of Mars.”

Ever since NASA’s InSight craft landed on Mars, the seismometers have been running non-stop to measure and record details of Mars quakes to gather more information about the planet’s internal composition and structure. Unfortunately, there is no earthquake greater than magnitude 4.5, meaning the seismic waves haven’t traveled as deep below the surface as researchers would like.

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However, two moderate earthquakes, magnitudes 3.7 and 3.3, are described as “treasure troves” for the mission. Science Mag notes that the waves from these earthquakes rushed toward NASA’s lander, which recorded travel times. The shifts pointed to the “thickness of the crust” and suggested “different layers in it,” said Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun, a seismologist at the University of Cologne.

InSight’s data showed that Mars can have two or three layers, with the Earth’s crust appearing thinner than the continental crust. Researchers calculated that the outer shell of the red planet is only 20 or 23 kilometers thick, with a shallow layer underneath that indicates a cooler mantle, enveloping a liquid core about 1800 kilometers in radius (more than half of the total diameter of the planet).

In the coming months, the InSight team, led by Bruce Banerdt, principal investigator and geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will continue its geological study of the red planet in an effort to capture more accurate measurements of event detections and provide an even clearer image. of the multi-layered interior of Mars.

For other exciting discoveries and developments in space, read how NASA’s Mars rover transported 10.9 million names to the red planet for a campaign, discover the astronomers who discovered a new method to detect potentially habitable planets, and find out all the details about the planet. mini-moon found to orbit Earth earlier this year.

Adele Ankers is a freelance entertainment journalist. You can reach her via Twitter.