The Martian earthquake and meteorite impact helped scientists understand what the Red Planet’s core is made of and clarify its size.
Scientists analyzed archival data from the now-defunct InSight Mars lander and detected seismic waves passing through the planet’s core for the first time. This made it possible to understand what the core of Mars is, what it consists of, and also to clarify its size, writes Gizmodo.
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The InSight lander was able to record more than 1,300 marsquakes (earthquakes on the Red Planet) during its 4-year run on Mars from 2018 to 2022. Their instruments recorded the seismic waves emitted from these earthquakes, allowing scientists to learn much more about the interior composition of Mars. But the core of the planet was a mystery, because too little information was available about it to get a complete picture of its structure and composition.
According to Jessica Irving of the University of Bristol, England, the now-defunct InSight lander was able to collect with its instruments the seismic waves left by the Martian earthquake and a meteorite impact on the other side of the planet. It was these signals that scientists turned their attention. The two events that shook Mars created different seismic waves, and as they emerged, they passed through the core of the Red Planet. This enabled scientists, for the first time, to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the structure and composition of the core of the fourth planet in the solar system.
What is the core of Mars made of?
According to Irving, the new study showed that the core of Mars is not made entirely of iron and is not as dense as previously thought. For example, if the Earth’s core consists of several parts, one more liquid and one more solid layer, then the core of the Red Planet turned out to be liquid. That is, it is not a solid iron ball, but consists of a liquid iron alloy with other chemical elements. It turns out that the composition of the core of Mars contains a lot of sulfur and other elements. Scientists have even found small amounts of hydrogen here.
Analysis of the data obtained, according to Irving, showed that about 20% of the mass of Mars’ core is not heavy, but composed of light chemical elements such as sulfur and oxygen. It turns out that such a large number of elements in the core of the Red Planet is much more than the composition of the core of the Earth. Based on this, it can be explained why Mars is not as rich in life as our planet.
Magnetic field
As you know, Mars is a cold, desert planet and the opposite of Earth. Scientists are still here hoping to find traces of microorganisms that may have existed on Mars at a time when this world had a warmer climate and rivers and seas on its surface.
As for the Earth, the core of our planet creates a strong magnetic field that protects our world from the dangerous effects of solar and cosmic radiation. Also, a strong magnetic field keeps the water in liquid form. However, scientists say that there is no water or life here, since the core of Mars does not form such a protective screen over the planet. That is, most likely, the presence of lighter elements in the core did not allow it to create a strong magnetic field.
Corrected size of the core of Mars
A few years ago, planetary scientists decided that the core of Mars is larger than previously thought. But a new study has shown that the “heart” of the Red Planet is actually slightly smaller, with a radius of about 1,770 to 1,800 km.
Destiny Vision
As for the InSight apparatus, it stopped sending signals to Earth in December last year. Focus He already wrote that NASA was trying to reconnect with him, but later officially announced that InSight had ceased its work on Mars. The fact is that for all the years of operation of the apparatus, powerful dust storms and Martian dust accumulating on solar panels are constantly visible on the Red Planet. So InSight began to use less and less solar power to charge its batteries. In any case, although InSight is considered “dead”, scientists continue to analyze its data, which will likely lead to multiple discoveries.
Focus He has already written that the Perseverance rover continues to explore the Lake crater on Mars and may find the aforementioned traces of extraterrestrial life. This device has an interesting history. More than a year ago, an unusual “passenger” joined him, or rather, a stone crashed into one of the wheels of the NASA rover. Perseverance has traveled a long way to Mars with this rock, but recently scientists have been unable to see it in new rover images.
Source: Focus
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