China’s Mars rover Zhurong has discovered traces of an ancient ocean coastline on the Maritain surface.
According to SCMP, researchers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the China Academy of Space Technology, and the Russian Academy of Sciences studied the data collected with Zhurong during the Tianwen-1 mission and found evidence of a 3.5 billion-year-old sea.
The research report published in the journal Scientific Reports on Friday, November 8, 2024, suggested signs of “past water activities” on Mars.
The lead author of the study, Wu Bo, said, “The ocean surface was likely frozen in a geologically short period, with liquid water solidified and material deposited by sedimentary load from the water body to form the dry shallow marine unit approximately 3½ billion years ago, and later the dry deep marine unit 3.42 billion years ago.”
He explained, “Existing studies indicate that the pitted cones in southern Utopia may have originated from mud volcanoes and are often formed in areas with low groundwater or ice content. Polygonal troughs and etched flows can only form when groundwater or ice is relatively rich.”
As per the researchers after analyzing the data, the study area was declared a nearshore zone, which was further divided into a shallow marine unit with less water or ice content in the south and a deep marine unit with more water or ice content in the north.
To note, the rover begins its expedition on the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a large plain in the northern hemisphere of the planet where it is believed that there was once an ocean, in 2021.
