According to a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Mars may contain liquid magma capable of volcanic activity. Scientists were able to come to such a conclusion by analyzing the seismic data obtained by the InSight probe. This device has been working on the surface of Mars since the end of 2018, and since February 2019 it began to transmit information about the seismic activity of the Red Planet. During its operation, the probe managed to record more than 1.3 thousand Martian earthquakes.

Often, as scientists learned, the epicenter of these Martian earthquakes was located in the region of Cerberus Fossae, a massive 1,235-kilometer-long geological structure. A closer analysis showed that the majority of the outbreaks were in a large depression at a shallow depth, which, according to the Mars Odyssey satellite, radiated much more heat than other regions.

Comparing these facts, the study’s authors hypothesized that the tremors were caused by the movement of magma in the surface layers of Mars. According to scientists, the Cerberus Rift zone accounts for about half of the total seismic activity of the entire planet.