Ancient Impact Fragments Discovered Beneath Mars' Surface

A groundbreaking revelation from NASA's former InSight lander has unveiled that remnants from colossal impacts 4.5 billion years ago lie deep within Mars' surface. This monumental discovery, announced in a recent study published by Science, sheds light on the planet's tumultuous past.

These early solar system impacts were so powerful that they melted vast expanses of the Martian crust and mantle, creating magma oceans and embedding fragments from celestial collisions deep into the planet. But the specifics of these primordial strikes remain a mystery, as they could have originated from an assortment of rocky entities—including massive protoplanets—that populated the early solar system.

Unearthing Mars' Geological Time Capsule

Unlike Earth, where tectonic activity constantly reshapes the planet's crust, Mars offers a rare snapshot of ancient geological features due to its stagnant interior. Large chunks—some as monumental as 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) across—are scattered throughout the Martian mantle, providing an unrivaled geological record.

Lead author Constantinos Charalambous of Imperial College London emphasized the significance of this discovery, stating, "We’ve never seen the inside of a planet in such fine detail and clarity before. The enduring presence of these ancient fragments indicates that Mars’ mantle has undergone a slow evolutionary process compared to Earth."

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