A New Study on Mars' Core

• 26 Apr 2023

A new study has revealed insights on Mars’ core.

• Mars' core is smaller and less dense than previously thought, likely in a liquid state.
• Mars' innermost layer cannot generate a magnetic field, unlike Earth's core.
• Seismic data from NASA's InSight Mars Lander used to examine Mars' interiors.
• Light elements like sulfur and oxygen make up a fifth of the core's weight.
• New data could inform better models of how Earth and Mars formed.
• InSight mission retired, but scientists are still analyzing the gathered data to learn more about Mars.
• Planetary seismologists are excited about future missions to other parts of the solar system to understand its formation.

InSight Mission (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) was a robotic mission to Mars launched by NASA in May 2018. Its objective was to study the deep interior of the planet, including its seismology, geodesy, and heat flow. InSight landed on Mars in November 2018 and operated on the planet's surface for over two years, during which it deployed a suite of scientific instruments, including a seismometer, a heat probe, and a radio science instrument, to collect data about the planet's interior.