Produced by: Manoj Kumar
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For the first time, scientists have pierced over a kilometer into the Earth’s mantle, pulling up rocks from beneath the crust that hold secrets billions of years old.
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What started as a 200-meter drill plan turned into a record-breaking 1,268-meter core—tripling past efforts and shocking geologists aboard the JOIDES Resolution.
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The core’s mantle rocks weren’t dull—they shimmered green, transformed by seawater through a process called serpentinization, offering chemical breadcrumbs to Earth’s deep past.
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The drilling site, near the mystical Lost City hydrothermal field, may reveal how early life began—thanks to gases like hydrogen and methane oozing from altered mantle rocks.
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Beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ridge lies a tectonic archive—harzburgite and gabbro layers that tell the story of Earth’s fiery birth and its slow, churning evolution.
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The drill cut through mantle rock three times faster than predicted, defying assumptions and suggesting the path to Earth’s interior may not be as blocked as once thought.
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Scientists hoped to punch through the Moho—the crust-mantle boundary—but fell short. Yet, they came closer than almost anyone in history to reaching pristine mantle rock.
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Just as momentum built, funding ran out. With the NSF pulling support, the mission ended early—leaving future mantle drilling hanging in uncertainty.
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These mantle rocks could unlock clues to plate tectonics, ocean crust formation, and even alien life origins—but only if future missions keep digging.
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