Exploring Mars' Core: NASA's InSight Mission Uncovers Surprising Insights

 The primary objective of NASA's InSight mission, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport, is to examine Mars' interior to help researchers comprehend the formation of rocky bodies like Earth and the Moon. In 2021, the InSight lander's seismometer discovered two Martian earthquakes, enabling scientists to conclude that Mars has a smaller and denser core than previously thought.

Over a complete Martian year, or approximately two Earth years since the mission's inception, these two earthquakes were the first to be detected in InSight's data, occurring between August 25 and September 18, 2021. Interestingly, they originated on the opposite side of the planet from the lander.

Mars lacks tectonic plates, meaning that most earthquakes result from faults forming in the planet's crust due to heat and stress. However, one of the detected earthquakes was caused by a meteoroid impact.

The observation of seismic waves passing through the core has allowed scientists to refine their core models. According to the latest findings, nearly 20% of the core consists of elements like sulfur, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. These revelations, along with others, were published on April 24 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.