A team of researchers from Bayerisches Geoinstitut conducted high-pressure temperature laboratory experiments to determine the crystal structure and density of the iron sulfide phase in the Mars core.
man et al. The formula shows that the high pressure iron sulfide phase is fe4+xs3 It has a higher density than the liquid Mars core, and its fe4+xs3 When the temperature drops below 1960 K at the center of Mars, the inner core crystallizes. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Maryland.
Like Earth's core, Mars' core is expected to be made up of molten ferrous metals.
However, the density is low, indicating that the Mars core must contain rich amounts of additional lighter elements, such as sulfur.
Previously, it was thought that the temperature of the Martian core would likely be too high for the solid inner core to crystallize, but the possibility of the iron sulfide mineral that forms the inner core was not examined in detail.
“Observations from NASA's insight mission reveal that Mars' core is enriched in the light element, as Mars' nuclei appears to be significantly lower than the density of iron-nickel alloys,” said Leangie, a researcher at Geoinstitut at Bayerish.
“From a cosmic perspective and geochemical considerations, candidate light elements in the Mars core include sulfur, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen.”
“In particular, sulfur is the most common moderately volatile element of the solar nebulae, and is the “iron-loving” behavior during core mantle differentiation, and is therefore often emphasized as a possible main component of the Mars core, as Mars' core formation is not extended enough or is not at the height of silicon or oxycone.
“Earthquake and Lander radio science data from the Insight mission confirmed that Mars has a flow core, but now geophysical basis cannot rule out the presence of a solid inner core.”
“In addition, geophysical observations, when combined with the physical interpretation of the appropriate minerals, provide not only essential constraints on internal composition and temperature, but also provide the mechanism that initiated and terminated the magnetic field of early Mars.”
In their study, scientists conducted high-pressure temperature lab experiments to determine the crystal structure and density of the iron sulfide phase in the Mars core.
They suggest that the temperature at the center of Mars should be below about 1,960 Kelvin, which is within the estimated range of this region.
Further geophysical measurements are required to confirm the actual presence of the core inside solid Mars.
“But our work supports the potential of a solid inner Mars core today, after Mars has been cooled further, or in the near future,” the author said.
Their paper Published in the journal Natural Communication.
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L. Mann et al. 2025. Structure and stability of Fe4+xs3 And the possibility of forming the inner core of Mars. Nut commune 16, 1710; doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56220-2
Source: www.sci.news
