Astronomers may have figured out where the mysterious blobs embedded in Mars' mantle originated.

However, seismic anomalies detected on Mars by the InSight mission reveal that the mantle is far from smooth and contains rough lumps of ancient fragments up to 4km wide, preserving the planet’s violent early history like geological fossils.

Using data from NASA’s retired InSight lander, two separate teams of researchers found evidence of a sluggish Martian mantle and a solid inner core.

What if Mars’ interior was not so much a neat layered cake but a shattered dessert with shards of its former self still rooted deep within? That is the picture emerging from NASA’s InSight mission, which has uncovered seismic shadows of fossilized remnants of ancient mantle leftovers from when the planet was youthful,

The interior of Mars is as chunky as a delicious macadamia cookie. A new analysis of the acoustic waves that ripple through and bounce around the red planet's guts reveals that the ancient, early crust of Mars is sequestered in its mantle.