A new study was published last month in the journal natural astronomy It could finally reveal more information about the disastrous history of Mars. One of the main goals of the new research was to discover more about what happened to Mars’ magnetosphere, which many believe disappeared in the planet’s past.
This latest research draws heavily on data captured by NASA’s Insight Lander, as well as the Martian Churong probe in China. The data captured by these two spacecraft points to some interesting findings, including that Mars has small magnetic pockets of varying sizes in different locations.
These differences in magnetism found at different locations are also intense. Typically, the surface of Mars has an average global size of only 200 nanometers. However, InSight has recorded volumes as high as 2000 nT. While this huge difference is notable, it became even more pronounced when Zhurong detected a power of just 20 nanometers elsewhere on the planet. As such, there appear to be parts of the planet where the magnetosphere is stronger.
NASA’s InSight Lander has captured interesting details of the Martian magnetosphere. Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
However, there are other areas that are much weaker, which has led many to believe that there may be some kind of catastrophe associated with the changeover. And understanding how and until when the Martian magnetosphere disappeared or changed is vital to the ongoing efforts by NASA and others to explore the Red Planet.
As NASA plans a manned mission to Mars within the next decade, fully understanding how the planet got to where it is now, and even learning more about the conditions that brought it here, will provide plenty of good information for astronomers to use. And as if that weren’t enough, learning all about it can help us better understand the planet as a whole.
This new discovery can be read in detail in the article, led by researchers from Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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