Mars Study Finds Southern Interior 200-400°C Hotter, Leaving Mantle Partly Molten
Updated
Updated · Caltech · Aug 26
Mars Study Finds Southern Interior 200-400°C Hotter, Leaving Mantle Partly Molten
3 articles · Updated · Caltech · Aug 26
Summary
Researchers found Mars's southern interior is about 200-400°C warmer than the north and likely partially molten, revealing a deep thermal asymmetry beneath the planet's crustal divide.
Three Mars orbiters supplied decades of gravity data, and the team used tidal tomography—tracking tiny spacecraft velocity changes as solar tides flex Mars—to map the planet's interior in 3D.
The anomaly could explain magnetic differences in southern iron minerals and why NASA's InSight detected faster seismic-wave dissipation in the south, both consistent with hotter mantle material.
Its origin remains unresolved, with hypotheses including a giant impact, past mantle convection, or thick southern geology trapping heat; the result could sharpen models of Mars's evolution, hydrology and past habitability.