There are a lot of mysteries in the cosmos, but at least one of them may be a little closer to being solved. Researchers may now have some clues as to how Mars formed due to data from NASA’s InSight spacecraft. The information refers to the rock and soil on the planet’s surface, with some seismic activity on the red planet providing some clues about what lies beneath the surface of one of the most interesting and mysterious planets in the solar system.
Conformable Science Magazine, (via IGN), researchers studying the spacecraft InSight have been able to detect rocky borders tens and hundreds of kilometers below the planet’s crust. That crust turns out to be quite thin, the planet’s mantle also proving to be a colder temperature than Mars’ molten iron core would suggest. What is interesting about this information is that it suggests that what is now Mars has been cooled by the use of plate tectonics with a pattern of “upward mantle rock and subductive crust.”
The data also revealed that Mars could have a much thinner crust than we have on Earth and that the Red Planet could also be made up of two or three different layers. Researchers will need more data to further develop their theories and findings, which has so far proved to be a challenge. The data comes from seismic activity on the planet, but the wind on the planet has made it difficult to detect a certain seismic activity. The dust on the solar panels also forced the team to stop the ship’s robotic arm, which it must use to try to insert a heat probe further into the surface. The heat probe got stuck in the ground which was expected to collapse when the probe was inserted. Mars has also thwarted the process in terms of the strength of its “earthquakes.” The report showed that there was no magnitude greater than 4.5, which is a bit unusual, although it could be attributed to various factors, including the size of Mars’ defects and also the consistency of the planet’s crust.
However, researchers hope they will be lucky and receive much more information.
“We look forward to another round of event detection,” said Bruce Banerdt, chief investigator at InSight and geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
What do you think about this new information about Mars? Tell us in the comments.