The enigmatic nature of Mars has long captivated scientific curiosity, and recent data from NASA’s InSight Lander has added yet another layer of intrigue.
The red planet’s peculiarities, including its almost non-existent atmosphere, unstable liquid metal core causing a constant wobble on its axis, and frozen desert landscape, have now been joined by a surprising discovery: Mars is spinning faster with each passing year.
NASA’s InSight Lander
Uncovered by a research team led by radio scientist Sebastien Le Maistre of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the accelerating spin was detected through NASA’s InSight Lander’s RISE (Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment) instrument.
The same team had previously established that Mars likely harbors a molten metal core. Upon scrutinizing RISE data from InSight’s initial 900 days on Mars, the researchers identified a minute acceleration in the planet’s spin, equivalent to about 0.76 milliseconds per Earth year. Consequently, Martian days are becoming gradually shorter.
The primary goal of RISE was to assess the extent of Mars’ wobbling caused by gravitational interactions with the Sun, a factor that would help determine the nature of its core.
Simultaneously, RISE monitored the length of a Martian day, or “sol,” which is around 24 hours and 37 minutes—roughly 30 minutes longer than an Earth day.
The instrument achieved this by analyzing reflected radio waves. By comparing the frequency of signals sent from NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) with the signals bouncing back to Earth, the InSight team gauged the lander’s movement alongside the planet.
RISE also discerned alterations in the frequency of reflected radio waves, which unveiled changes in the planet’s orbit as well as shifts in day length.
In fact, RISE’s measurements of day length were about five times more precise than previous measurements from the Viking landers.
The researchers even tracked changes in carbon dioxide levels at the poles, where its sublimation during warmer months and condensation during colder periods offer additional insights.
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Exploring Potential Causes and Unveiling Insights from InSight’s Data-Rich Mission
Despite the increasing pace of Mars’ rotation, scientists have not definitively pinpointed the underlying cause of this phenomenon. Speculatively, it might be linked to variations in the planet’s ice caps. As carbon dioxide ice from Martian ice caps sublimates in warmer months, regions previously covered by ice become exposed.
This can lead to shifts in the planet’s mass and subsequent changes in its rotational dynamics. The team also considered the potential of core-mantle coupling, wherein momentum from Mars’ liquid core transfers to its mantle.
The meticulous work to uncover these minuscule changes in the data was a time-consuming endeavor. The researchers waited patiently for sufficient data during InSight’s operational window, ensuring to eliminate potential sources of noise that could influence the results.
Despite the challenges, the data-rich insights from InSight’s mission continue to captivate scientists and deepen our understanding of Mars’ intricacies.
As technology enables us to explore this distant world, curiosity remains unwavering, revealing more about our neighboring red planet year after year.
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