Like a radioactive "blanket". What wraps up Mars's core?
New research concerning the core of Mars sheds new light on the history of the planet and how it became as barren as it is today.
Around the Martian core, there is a unique "blanket" of liquid silicate. Because of this, the core appears bigger and rarer than it actually is. Moreover, it leads scientists to new clues about how this planet evolved and how the process took place in which it lost the potential to support life, eventually becoming as barren as it currently is.
"Radioactive 'blanket' around the Martian core"
– This "blanket" not only isolates the heat coming from the core and prevents it from cooling, but also concentrates radioactive elements, the decay of which generates heat. As a result of these processes, the core is probably unable to generate convective movements, which may explain the reasons why Mars currently does not have an active magnetic field around it – commented Vedran Lekic, co-author of the study.
It was the lack of a magnetic field that could have led to Mars being more susceptible to sharp solar winds. The consequence was the loss of water from the surface and as a result: the loss of the ability to sustain life.
The mystery of Mars unraveled thanks to the InSight mission
The observations described in the Nature magazine were made possible thanks to the four-year mission by NASA's InSight which ended in December 2022. It allowed for the creation of a map of Mars' inner structure, along with the size and composition of the core. Seismic data was used for this purpose. Other data collected earlier seems to confirm the conclusions that scientists have reached this time.
The team's findings confirm the theory that Mars was once a vast ocean of gradual magma. Over time, this crystallized, forming a layer of silicate enriched with iron and radioactive elements.
- This new discovery of a melted layer around the core is just one example of how we can still learn new things from the already completed InSight mission. We hope that the information we have gathered on the planet's evolution using seismic data will pave the way for future missions aimed at studying celestial bodies, such as the Moon or other planets, for example Venus - added Vedran Lekic.
