Why is Mars geologically inactive compared to Io or Enceladus?
Answer
Mars lacks the massive gravitational driver required to keep its interior churning.
The comparison between Mars and the smaller Jovian/Saturnian moons highlights the primacy of orbital mechanics over absolute mass in dictating ongoing geology. Mars is larger than Io and Enceladus, yet its major tectonic activity has ceased because its core has cooled sufficiently. Crucially, Mars is not locked in a system where a giant planet exerts the powerful, varying gravitational stresses necessary to continuously flex and heat its interior. The small moons possess this critical external power plant derived from their host planet's gravity, a driver Mars simply lacks.
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