Marsquakes indicate a solid core for the red planet, just like Earth

 Scientists revealed Wednesday that Mars’ [innermost core](https://apnews.com/article/business-science-planets-mars-3847043b7bc9a9855658ef8b09e90574) appears to be a solid hunk of metal just like Earth’s.

The Chinese-led research team based their findings on seismic readings from [NASA’s InSight lander](https://apnews.com/article/e9d09003409847ad93b85298c316cdcb) on Mars, which recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes before [shutting down](https://apnews.com/article/science-4f5f91727873df72be12c0ef0a31c2fb) in 2022. The spacecraft landed on a broad plain near Mars’ equator in 2018.

Previous studies pointed to liquid at the heart of the [red planet](https://apnews.com/article/mars-water-insight-nasa-marsquakes-c50281cac5b27d6662eab97140d10c7d). The latest findings indicate the inner core, while small, is indeed solid and surrounded by molten metal — a liquid outer core.