NASA’s InSight spacecraft measured the size of Mars’ core for the first time.
The spacecraft was launched in May 2018 and successfully landed on the red planet in November of that year.
PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS FIRST SOUNDS OF DRIVING ON MARCH
InSight – abbreviated to indoor exploration using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport – was created to study the early evolution of terrestrial planets, including the inner structure of Mars.
The lander also calculates and quantifies the tectonic activity and meteorite impact on the planet and achieves its current findings by examining seismic energy in Mars’ interior or ‘marsquakes’.
The measurement, presented this week during the virtual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, indicates that the radius of the Mars core is about 1,850 to 1,860 kilometers, according to the scientific journal Nature.
The InSight team reportedly said the measurement is noticeably larger than previous estimates, suggesting that the core is less dense than initially projected and likely contains lighter elements.
The earth and the moon are similarly measured.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Knowing the size of the core of a planet is crucial to understanding its history and giving researchers a context about the evolution of the planet.
Mars formed more than 4.5 billion years ago from minerals and elements found on Earth. NASA knows that Mars once had water – rivers, lakes and even an ocean – before it dehydrated and gradually lost a significant portion of its atmosphere.