Chinese, US scientists detect 600-km solid inner core on Mars that should not exist: Study

A recent study jointly conducted by Chinese and US scientists found that Mars has a solid inner core, challenging the long-held beliefs that the structure does not exist.

Published in Nature journal, the first evidence regarding the presence of an inner core, has challenged prevailing theories about how the red planet formed and cooled.

Analysis of seismic data acquired by NASA’s now-retired InSight mission, researchers discovered a solid core about 600km (373 miles) in radius, or almost 18% of Mars’ radius, a similar proportion to Earth’s inner core.

This finding provides an anchor point for understanding the thermal and chemical state of Mars.

According to Nicholas Schmerr, a planetary seismologist at the University of Maryland, College Park, the findings helped to fill a major gap in the general understanding of Mars’ deep interior.

The evidence also revives the long-debated idea that Earth was not the only planet to have once developed plate tectonics.

These properties, the report said, imply a concentration of distinct light elements in the inner core, segregated from the outer core through core crystallization.

The relationship between inner core formation and the Martian magnetic field evolution could provide insights into dynamo generation across planetary bodies, it added.