Clue about the coastline existing on Mars 3.5 billion years ago revealed through sedimentary rock layers and stratification recently discovered.
According to SCMP, China’s Zhurong Mars rover from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) may have found evidence of a coastline during its mission on the Red Planet.
Zhurong rover operating on the surface of Mars (Photo: SCMP).
To reach this conclusion, scientists from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the China Academy of Space Technology, and the Russian Academy of Sciences relied on data collected during the rover’s Tianwen-1 mission.
Zhurong discovered rock samples in the southern Utopia Planitia (a site on Mars), indicating that the area is divided into three sections with varying depths.
There, the system distinctly divides geographical structures resembling shallow seas that then gradually extend down to lower areas. This reinforces the hypothesis that this region was once covered by a vast ocean, stemming from the coastline that stretched across the surface of Mars.
“This coastline is likely remnants of an ancient ocean that existed about 3.5 billion years ago,” the research team shared in the journal Scientific Reports.
“The discovery of sedimentary rocks and stratification is clear evidence of past liquid water activity on Mars.”
Professor Wu Bo, Director of the Planetary Remote Sensing Laboratory at PolyU, stated that this is the first time scientists have successfully proposed a scenario explaining how oceans formed on the Red Planet.
He also emphasized that this is an important study, adding to humanity’s understanding of water formation on Mars that has spanned decades.
