A new study using data collected by the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Zhurong rover has found evidence of an ancient coastline on Mars.
Scientists have discovered beach-like structures beneath the planet’s surface, providing some of the strongest evidence yet of an ocean in the northern hemisphere.
Mars may appear to be a completely dry planet today, but there is ample evidence that it once had rivers, lakes, and even an entire ocean. However, scientists are still trying to figure out how much water there was, where it disappeared to, and how it happened.
A team of researchers analyzed data from the Zhurong rover’s radar, which scanned subsurface rock layers at depths of up to 80 meters. The scientists found sloping layers of sediment similar to Earth’s coastlines. These could only have formed if water had been present for a long time, supporting the hypothesis of a Martian ocean.
These results also point to potential areas for searching for traces of ancient life. It was in such places — on the border between land and water — that the first living organisms on Earth could have appeared.
Scientists believe that a significant portion of the water could have gone deep into the planet and is still hidden in its depths in the form of huge underground reservoirs. The next step in the research is to model the Martian waves and tides that could have formed these beaches.
