2023-08-16 15:13:25
NASA has confirmed in a recent study that Mars is spinning faster and faster. Experts have determined that our neighboring planet has increased its spin by approximately 4 thousandths of a second per year. In other words, the length of a Martian day is being shortened by a fraction of a millisecond per year. It should be noted that a day on Mars lasts about 40 minutes longer than on our planet.
The hypotheses as to why this increase in rotation speed occurs on the red planet are open, but the one that carries the most weight is the one that contemplates that it could be due to the accumulation of ice at the poles of the planet. Although it is also possible that it is due to the rise of land masses after being covered with ice. When a planet’s mass changes in this way, it can cause the planet’s spin to speed up, experts say.
The astronomers confirmed this theory according to a study conducted using data provided by the InSight lander, an instrument suite that included an array of antennas and a radio transponder called RISE, or Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment. These had the function of tracking the rotation of Mars during the first 900 days of the mission.
Initially, this mission was going to last around two years, but NASA eventually extended it by two more years.
Although InSight is no longer operational, the lander has collected hundreds of data on Mars, providing a wealth of data that has given scientists a deeper understanding of the planet. So much so that the mission was the first to reveal some of the secrets of the Martian interior. Scientists will analyze all that data for decades to come. NASA aims to get to know our neighboring country as well as possible.
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