Mars's Interior is 400°C Hotter Under Southern Hemisphere
Scientists have discovered that Mars's interior heat is unevenly distributed, with the southern hemisphere being 400°C hotter than the northern. This finding, published in Nature, was made by analyzing archival data from NASA orbiters and combining it with knowledge of Mars's orbital eccentricity and tilt to build a gravitational model.
Why it matters
This research provides crucial insights into the geological evolution of Mars, helping to explain why the planet cooled faster than Earth, leading to the loss of its magnetic field, volcanism, and surface water. It enhances our understanding of planetary dynamics and the conditions necessary for habitability.
The planet Mars is a cold and dry world completely devoid of life, but billions of years ago things were much different. This is when Mars had a much warmer interior than it does today, resulting in active volcanism that replenished its atmosphere, a magnetic field that protected the planet from harmful solar and cosmic radiation, and a surface of flowing liquid water. But due to Mars’s small size, the interior cooled far faster than Earth’s has cooled, leading to a loss of volcanism, near-absolute depletion of its magnetic field, and complete evaporation of all surface liquid water. But what is the interior heat of Mars like today?
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