The rotation of Mars is accelerating and scientists cannot find an explanation for this

The latest data from NASA's InSight lander has shown that Martian days are getting shorter. Astronomers from the space agency do not yet know why this is happening. Study published in the journal Nature.

Until recently, it was possible to track the rotation rate of Mars using antennas and the InSight radio transponder. Now the probe is retired, because after four years of operation it was discharged (in December 2022). Nevertheless, the data he collected was enough to fix the acceleration, albeit by a very small amount - the Red Planet began to rotate faster by about 4 milliseconds of arc per year. This reduces the Martian day by a fraction of a millisecond per year (now about 37 minutes longer than Earth).

Scientists do not yet have a clear explanation for this anomaly. According to one of their hypotheses, the rotation of the planet is getting faster due to the ice cover at the polar poles.

It is also possible that the movement of large rocky slabs continues in the depths of Mars, which gradually rise after being buried under ice for a long time. Such a process could theoretically speed up an entire planet, the researchers explain.

With this data, the scientists also want to measure how much the Red Planet wobbles as it spins, thought to be caused by the movement of liquid elements in its core. Thanks to them, they have been able to estimate its radius is from 1,790 to 1,850 kilometers. And this is more than half of the planetary radius of 3390 kilometers, which is quite a lot.

NASA noted that there is still a huge amount of raw data from InSight. It is expected that their study will take several years.