NASA Finds Evidence That Mars Devoured Huge Chunks of Other Planets

"Newly examined data from NASA's retired InSight lander suggest that there may be giant chunks of rocky material deep inside the mantle of Mars, which were lodged there after a barrage of massive objects slammed into its surface some 4.5 billion years ago. Some of these smithereens are so large, the researchers say, that they're effectively protoplanets - moon-sized objects in the early stages of becoming a planet proper . In other words: Mars could be stuffed with the dead embryos of failed worlds."

"Though it's home to the largest volcano in the solar system - Olympus Mons, which towers at twice the height of Mount Everest - Mars has long been considered to be a "dead" planet, showing little signs of contemporary geologic or volcanic activity. Unlike Earth, its crust isn't broken up into tectonic plates; it's just one huge, inert slab. Recent discoveries have shown that Mars is more moribund than actually dead, but it's a still largely inactive world."

"That said, its interior still houses many secrets and surprises, producing the odd pulse here and there. It's still occasionally rattled by tremors, or marsquakes, and the seismic waves these produce offer a rare opportunity to interrogate what lurks beneath the surface. That's because seismic waves can slow down or speed up depending on the material they pass through. By analyzing how the waves travel, along with other subtle changes to their mechanical properties, scientists can piece together a picture of everything they touched."

Newly examined InSight seismic data indicate giant rocky fragments may be embedded deep within Mars' mantle, deposited by a barrage of massive impacts around 4.5 billion years ago. Some fragments are large enough to qualify as protoplanets—moon-sized embryonic bodies trapped beneath the surface. Mars lacks plate tectonics and remains largely inactive at the surface, but occasional marsquakes generate seismic waves that change speed and mechanical properties depending on the materials they traverse. Analysis of those waveforms allows reconstruction of internal structure and reveals preserved ancient impact remnants within the Martian interior.

Read at Futurism