Mars Lost Its Magnetic Field Because of Hydrogen, Sulfur [Study]

Scientists may have finally solved the Martian enigma, which has perplexed them for decades. Experts discovered that the behavior of the molten metal supposed to be present on Mars likely resulted in a transient magnetic field that would eventually fade away.

They already knew when convection ended and Mars' magnetic shield was destroyed. This occurred around 4 billion years ago. But how did it happen? This subject is addressed in a new study published in Nature Communications.

Professor Kei Hirose of the University of Tokyo's Department of Earth and Planetary Science and Shunpei Yokoo, a Ph.D. student in the Hirose lab, is the study's primary author, "Stratification in Planetary Cores by Liquid Immiscibility in Fe-S-H."

(Photo: KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - A picture was taken on February 7, 2018, shows a member of the AMADEE-18 Mars simulation mission wearing a spacesuit standing in the doorway of a simulation habitat, with a view of the night sky above in Oman's Dhofar desert, during an analog field simulation in a collaboration between the Austrian Space Forum and the Oman National Steering Committee preparing for future human Mars missions.

Separation of Hydrogen, Sulfur in Planet Killed Mars' Magnetic Field

Hirose said in a press release that incomprehensibly large convection currents of molten metals in the planet's core drives the Earth's magnetic field. He noted that other planets' magnetic fields are thought to function in the same way.

Though the interior composition of Mars is unknown, evidence from meteorites shows it is made out of molten iron with a sulfur enrichment.

In addition, data from NASA's InSight mission on Mars' surface shows that the planet's core is larger and thinner than previously thought.

The InSIGHT lander from NASA struggled to accomplish all of its scientific goals, Universe Today said. It has, however, obtained some crucial information about Mars' internal structure, which may tell more about the red planet's vanished magnetic shield.

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These facts point to the presence of additional elements on the planet, such as iron (Fe), sulfur (S), and hydrogen (H). Experts develop iron alloys that they predict to make up the core and test them using this information.

According to the study, the commencement and end of Martian core convection and dynamo activity might have been caused by the separation of immiscible sulfur-rich and hydrogen-rich liquids.

Mars was doomed once the two liquids parted. There was no longer any convection, magnetic, no longer any atmosphere, and no longer any water. The exact duration is uncertain, but the end outcome was a planet that was no longer alive.

Magnetic Field's Role in Planet's Atmosphere

Our planet's magnetic fields are generated by a magneto effect created by the Earth's core. There are two cores: a solid inner core and a liquid outer core.

Science Alert said convective currents form in the outer liquid core as heat moves from the inner core to the outer core. The planet's rotation, the inner core, and the Coriolis effect all influence the movement of convective currents. The planet's magnetosphere is formed as a result of this.

Earth is swaddled in the magnetosphere, which acts as a protective blanket. When the solar wind collides with the magnetosphere, it is forced to circulate the globe rather than reach the atmosphere or the surface.

The magnetosphere is not a sphere because it is shaped asymmetrically by the solar wind. The magnetosphere protects Earth's atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind. Earth, like Mars, would be dry, lifeless, and desolate without it.