Marsquakes indicate a solid core for the red planet, just like Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Scientists revealed Wednesday that Mars’ innermost core appears to be a solid hunk of metal just like Earth’s.

The Chinese-led research team based their findings on seismic readings from NASA’s InSight lander on Mars, which recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes before shutting down in 2022. The spacecraft landed on a broad plain near Mars’ equator in 2018.

Previous studies pointed to liquid at the heart of the red planet . The latest findings indicate the inner core, while small, is indeed solid and surrounded by molten metal — a liquid outer core.

The Martian inner core extends from the planet’s center out to a radius of approximately 380 miles (613 kilometers), according to the scientists whose findings appeared in the journal Nature.

It’s likely compose