Earthquakes on Mars reveal core mystery

From its signature red-colored soil to canyons, dead volcanoes and dry lake beds, the Martian landscape has intrigued humans for generations. Not only does it feature the largest mountain in our solar system and the deepest canyon, but evidence of past liquid water on the planet could indicate life once existed on this rocky world. What lies underneath Mars' surface is equally fascinating — as Mars' evolution by a planet is, like Earth, driven by the geologic behavior of what's below. Hence, scientists have long wondered whether Mars has a core just like Earth's, or something completely different.

The answer is getting much more clear thanks to new research that took advantage of seismic waves rippling through the Red Planet. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 24, help confirm expert predictions of what Mars is like at its center. The result suggests Mars' core is remarkably different from Earth. That could inform our ideas of what planets in other galaxies are like.

The data comes courtesy of the InSight mission, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport. Launched five years ago, the mission dropped a seismometer, an instrument that can measure earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, onto Mars in late 2018. It somewhat resembles a hub cap that rests in the dirt.