Mines Geophysics Researchers work with NASA’s InSight Mission to Reveal Mars’ Internal Structure
Planetary seismology extends the powerful approach of imaging interior structures by deploying seismometers directly on the surface to other planets beyond Earth. Over the past half century of planetary exploration, seismic data have been acquired on the Moon and Mars, and have provided invaluable insights into the internal structure, formation, and evolution of terrestrial planets. In November 2019, NASA’s InSight Mission landed in Elysium Planitia on Mars, and deployed the first seismometer on the surface of the red planet. The mission aims to determine the internal structure and composition as well as seismicity and impact cratering rates on Mars. InSight mission has detected more than one thousand marsquakes and is continuing to monitor seismicities on Mars. Using these seismic events, the InSight team have revealed the internal structure of Mars including the crustal structure and layering beneath the lander, upper mantle structure as well as the core radius and density of Mars.
Figure 1. Internal Structure of Mars. (©IPGP / David Ducros)
Figure 2. Simulations of seismic wave propagation on Mars (Bozdag et al. 2017).
Mines’ researchers combine the InSight seismic data with numerical simulations to understand the crustal scattering and mantle structure of Mars. The team has performed 3–D simulations of wave propagations by considering the surface topography, lateral variations of mantle structure as well as crustal scattering of Mars. Using these simulations, the uncertainties of body wave traveltime that arise from the 3-D lateral variations of mantle structure can be quantified. This work will help refine the internal structures of Mars. The simulations will also provide insights into the origin of crustal scattering and implications for crustal structure.