Marsquakes are revealing surprises about the planet's solid inner core : Short Wave : NPR

Mars is known for its barren desert landscape and dry climate. But two recent studies go beneath the surface: They explore the interior of the red planet using seismic data from NASA's InSight mission .

NASA's seismometer collected data about Marsquakes — kind of like taking an X-ray of the planet.

And now, this data is giving scientists a glimpse into the planet's history – to see how Mars has evolved over billions of years, and how its inner structure compares to Earth.

The first paper, published in Nature , looks at the current conditions of Mars' core. This new paper suggests the core has two parts: a solid inner core and liquid outer core. That makes it similar to the internal structure of Earth.

Earth, however, has a key difference: Fluid motion in the liquid outer laye