STUDY BY CHINESE, AUSTRALIAN RESEARCHERS SHEDS LIGHT ON MARS’ EVOLUTION

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Sun 26 January 2025:

Australian and Chinese researchers have made a breakthrough in unraveling the mystery of how the surface of Mars has evolved over billions of years.

Their recently published study focuses on seismic activity on Mars, with findings suggesting that “marsquakes” — tremors occurring on the planet — may offer crucial insights into the Martian landscape development over billions of years.


The study may also help explain the “Martian dichotomy,” a phenomenon marked by a sharp elevation difference of 5-6 kilometers (3.1–3.7 miles) between Mars’ northern and southern hemispheres.

According to the researchers, this striking contrast is likely caused by convection — the transfer of heat within the Martian mantle — over hundreds of millions or even billions of years.

Geophysicist Hrvoje Tkalcic, one of the researchers, described the dichotomy as “one of the biggest mysteries in the solar system.”


The study reveals that Mars’ southern hemisphere, a less explored region, is significantly hotter than its northern counterpart. This conclusion was drawn by analyzing marsquakes in the “southern highlands” and comparing them to the well-documented seismic activity in the northern hemisphere.


“Understanding whether convection is taking place offers clues into how Mars has evolved into its current state over billions of years,” Tkalcic said.

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Mars has been a focal point of scientific exploration for decades, with studies spanning orbiters, landers, and rovers to understand its geology, atmosphere, and potential for life.

Early missions, like NASA’s Mariner and Viking programs in the 1960s-70s, provided the first images of Mars and analyzed its surface and thin atmosphere. Later missions, such as the Mars Pathfinder and Spirit/Opportunity rovers, revealed evidence of ancient water flow through the discovery of dried riverbeds and minerals formed in water.

NASA’s Curiosity rover, active since 2012, has analyzed Martian soil and atmosphere, finding organic molecules and hints of ancient habitability. The Perseverance rover, which landed in 2021, focuses on searching for signs of past life and collecting rock samples for future return to Earth. ESA’s Mars Express and India’s Mars Orbiter Mission have contributed vital data on the planet’s atmosphere and subsurface.

Future studies include NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission and ESA’s ExoMars program, along with plans for human exploration. These missions aim to uncover Mars’ climate history, potential for life, and its suitability for future colonization.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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