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Scientists have, for the first time, directly measured the nucleus of another planet. NASA’s InSight mission to Mars found that the core of the Red Planet is considerably larger than expected.
The spacecraft’s instruments listened to seismic energy deep within the planet. The data suggests a measurement of 1,810 to 1,860 km in diameter, or about half the size of the Earth’s core. It is larger than some predictions, which means the Martian core is less dense than previous estimates, possibly due to the presence of lighter elements such as oxygen.
The measurements have not yet been published in a journal, but were reported at a virtual gathering of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. This discovery could help researchers better understand how the planet evolved and raise questions about potential living conditions on the planet.
The measurement was taken with a seismometer, explains Divya Persaud, a planetologist at UCL, who did not participate in the research.
“It’s like a very sensitive ear pressed to the ground, listening to energetic events within a planet. On Earth, these are usually earthquakes. InSight detected hundreds of seismic events during the Martian first year of its mission. Seismic events on Mars, such as marsquakes or meteor impact, are exciting in themselves for geologists, but they are also a useful tool.
“On Earth, when an earthquake releases a lot of energy, these waves of energy travel rapidly inside the planet and bounce off different materials, such as magma, or the boundaries between layers of different types of rocks. They also slow down in some materials or speed up in others. “
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By measuring the strength of these signals and how they interact with underground materials, scientists can detect the internal structure of the planet. The InSight team used the same technique on Mars.
Persaud is intrigued that the core is not as dense as expected, as this could lead to new understandings of how the planets and the larger solar system evolved. “The nuclei also tell us about the energy of the solar system over time,” she says, “not just for Mars but all the terrestrial planets that formed at the same time but in very different ways from each other.
“Understanding the structure of Mars tells us how much heat it started with, how deep and how fast over time, and is an important puzzle piece in the greater mystery of how and why planets formed. as they did.
InSight, which sits near the Martian equator, may not be reporting many more results. Dust begins to accumulate on its solar panels, and as Mars moves further from the Sun into its orbit, the spacecraft will soon begin to lose its ability to recharge.
However, his findings are already a game-changer and suggest more important puzzles to solve. The planet’s core could tell us more about an ancient magnetic field that once supported a Martian atmosphere, much like that of Earth. This could tell us more about potential life on Mars in the distant past.
“It is also important that InSight has had real technological success,” says Persaud. “We only have seismic measurements of the Earth, the Moon and Mars, and here we have a really effective advanced instrument that changes our perspective of Mars. In the future, a seismometer on a body like Europa could give us a fantastic look at a radically different world.
“The future of planetary seismology is really exciting.”
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