An immobile probe sitting like a squat turtle on the surface of Mars has finally delivered a comprehensive picture of the red planet's internal struct

A Detailed Map of The Internal Structure of Mars Has Been Revealed For The First Time

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2021-07-23 19:30:06

An immobile probe sitting like a squat turtle on the surface of Mars has finally delivered a comprehensive picture of the red planet's internal structure.

The Mars InSight lander measured around 733 marsquakes, and used information on 35 of them, to form a picture of the crust, mantle, and core. It's the first time seismic data have been used to probe the interior of a planet other than Earth, and a major step towards understanding the evolution of rocky planets in the Solar System.

These earthquakes have revealed the thickness and structure of the crust and mantle, and a surprisingly large, low-density liquid core. The results have been described in three papers published in Science; they represent an absolutely stunning feat of scientific ingenuity and hard work.

"It took scientists hundreds of years to measure Earth's core; after the Apollo missions, it took them 40 years to measure the Moon's core. InSight took just two years to measure Mars's core."