Key Takeaways:
- Rocky material from ancient impacts on Mars is scattered throughout the planet’s mantle, offering insights into its interior and history.
- InSight lander’s data revealed fragments from massive impacts 4.5 billion years ago deep below Mars’ surface.
- Mars lacks tectonic plates like Earth, allowing ancient fragments to remain visible in its mantle.
NASA's InSight lander detected fragments from ancient impacts on Mars deep within its mantle, shedding light on the planet's history. These remnants, as large as 2.5 miles across, provide a glimpse into Mars' past and its slow mantle evolution. The lack of tectonic plates on Mars has preserved these ancient features, offering a unique view of the planet's interior. The findings were published in the journal Science, showcasing the detailed insights gained through seismic data collected by InSight.
Insight: The presence of ancient impact fragments in Mars' mantle indicates a sluggish mantle evolution over billions of years, a contrast to Earth's dynamic tectonic processes. This discovery could have implications for understanding the interiors of other rocky planets lacking plate tectonics, such as Venus and Mercury.
This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: NASA Breaking News.
Read the original article here: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/insight/nasa-marsquake-data-reveals-lumpy-nature-of-red-planets-interior/
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