Overview

• The findings, published Aug. 28 in Science, use NASA InSight data to show kilometer-scale, compositionally distinct lumps embedded deep within Mars.
• Eight especially clear events, including two recent impact-triggered quakes, revealed high‑frequency P‑wave delays and scattering consistent with a lumpy mantle.
• Fragments as large as about 4 kilometers across appear to follow a fractal size distribution of a few big shards surrounded by many smaller pieces.
• Researchers interpret the heterogeneity as debris injected during colossal early impacts and later frozen in place as magma oceans crystallized under a stagnant lid.
• The single‑station dataset limits spatial coverage, and scientists say broader seismic networks and modeling will be needed to map the global extent and composition.