Scientists have created a new gravity map that gives researchers the best view yet of the interior of Mars. The new map may help researchers better understand the interior of the Red Planet.
"Gravity maps allow us to see inside a planet, just as a doctor uses an X-ray to see inside a patient," Antonio Genova of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said. "The new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration, because better knowledge of the planet's gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars. Furthermore, the improved resolution of our gravity map will help us understand the still-mysterious formation of specific regions of the planet."
In this latest study, the researchers created the map with the help of Doppler and range tracking data that was collected by NASA's Deep Space Network. This network consists of three NASA spacecraft currently orbiting Mars, including the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), the Mars Odyssey (ODY), and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Like most other planets, Mars is lumpy; this means that its gravitational pull changes and causes spacecraft in orbit around it to react differently.
The new gravity map actually suggests a new explanation for how some features on Mars formed across the boundary that divides smooth northern lowlands from cratered southern highlands. In addition, it shows that Mars has a liquid outer core of molten rock.
"With this new map, we've been able to see gravity anomalies as small as about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) across, and we've determined the crustal thickness of Mars with a resolution of around 120 kilometers (almost 75 miles)," Genova said. "The better resolution of the new map helps interpret how the crust of the planet changed over Mars' history in many regions."
For example, the area of low gravity between the areas of Acidalia Planitia and Tempe Terra is likely the result of a system of buried channels. These channels delivered water and sediments from Mars' southern highlands into the northern lowlands billions of years ago.
The findings reveal a bit more about Mars and its past. More specifically, researchers can use the map to better understand the Red Planet.
