“NASA’s InSight probe discovers liquid iron alloy core on Mars”

(CNN) When an earthquake shakes Mars and A meteorite hit the red planet Over the past four years, NASA’s InSight probe has been collecting sound waves that help reveal secrets to the interior of Mars.

During this event, InSight detected for the first time seismic waves traveling through the Martian core. Now, scientists have used rover data to determine that Mars has a core of a liquid iron alloy alloy that also contains light elements such as Sulfur and oxygen, as well as small amounts of hydrogen and carbon.

greater development Understanding the interior of Mars can help scientists learn more about how rocky planets like Earth and Mars formed, how the two planets differ, and what factors make other planets habitable.

The detailed study results are Published Monday in the journal Prosiding National Academy of Sciences.

“In 1906, scientists first discovered the Earth’s core by observing how seismic waves from earthquakes are affected by traveling through it,” study co-author Vedran Lekic, a professor of geology at the University of Maryland, College Park, said in a statement. “After more than a hundred years, we are applying our knowledge of seismic waves to Mars. With InSight, we have finally discovered what is at the center of Mars and what makes Mars so similar but different from Earth.”

The researchers analyzed how long the seismic waves generated by one wave last really In addition the meteor impact travel through the Martian core, allowing them to estimate the core’s density and chemical composition.

Planetary cores provide evidence of evolution

Earth has a liquid outer core and a solid inner core, but the Martian core appears to be made entirely of liquid. The Martian core is also much denser and smaller than scientists estimate, with a radius of about 1,106 to 1,125 miles (1,780 to 1,810 kilometers).

Study co-author Nicholas Schmeier, a professor of geology at the University of Maryland: College Park, said in a statement.

The end result of the process of formation and evolution can be the generation or lack of conditions that support life. The peculiarities of the earth’s core allow it to generate a magnetic field that protects us from the solar wind, allows us to save water. Mars’ core does not produce this protective shield, so conditions on the planet’s surface are hostile to life.

Mars currently has no magnetic field, but magnetic traces remain in the Martian crust. The ruins have led scientists to believe that Mars may have once supported a habitable environment, but evolved over time to become a frozen, uninhabitable desert.

“It’s like a puzzle in some ways,” said Lekic. “For example, there are very few traces of hydrogen in the Martian core. That means there had to be certain conditions that allowed hydrogen to get there, and we have to understand those conditions to understand how Mars evolved into the planet it is today.” ”

Initially, InSight, the first mission to study the interior of Mars, was supposed to last about two years. But NASA extended its mission for another two years.

“The extra mission time definitely pays off,” said lead study author Dr. Jessica Irving, senior lecturer in Earth sciences at the University of Bristol in England, in a statement.

“We made the first observations of seismic waves moving through the Martian core. Two seismic signals, one from a very distant swamp and the other from a meteorite impact on the far side of the planet, allowed us to probe Mars with seismic waves. We are actively listening for the energy coursing through the planet’s core, and now we are hearing it.”

The InSight mission continues to collect data on Mars until the very end, Silence in December 2022 Once the dust prevents the solar panels from receiving the necessary sunlight. But the dataset the probe collected during its four years on Mars has changed the way scientists understand the Red Planet.

“InSight will continue to influence the way we understand the formation and evolution of Mars and other planets for years to come,” said Lekic.