Use the data collected by China Zhurong RoverPlanetary researchers have identified hidden layers of rocks below Mars, which strongly indicate the presence of the old northern ocean.
“We find places on Mars, which appeared to be ancient beaches and the ancient river,” said Benjamin Cardinas, a researcher of Pennsylvania, a researcher in the state of Benjamin Cardenas, co -author of the study.
“We have found evidence of wind and waves, and there is no shortage of sand-beach similar to holidays.”
Zhurong Rover is now active on Mars in 2021 in an area known as Utopia Planitia, and it was operated for a year, between May 2021 and May 2022.
He traveled 1.9 km (1.2 miles) approximately perpendicular to the shelf that is believed to be an old beach line from one time ago – 4 billion years ago – when Mars had a thicker and warmer climate.
Along its way, the Earth’s Rover was used to explore up to 80 meters (260 feet) below the surface.
This radar is used to detect underground things, such as tubes and facilities, but also irregular features, such as the border between the layers of rocks or unique graves.
Radar photos showed thick layers of materials along the entire track, all indicating the top towards the supposed coastal line of approximately 15 degrees, almost similar to the angle of the sediments of the beach on the ground.
The sediments of this thickness on the floor took millions of years, indicating that Mars had a long -term water body with a wave movement to distribute the deposits along the slope coast line.
The radar was also able to determine the size of the molecules in these layers, which match the size of the sand.
However, the sediments do not resemble the old sand dunes that blow the wind, which are common on Mars.
“This has emerged for us immediately because it indicates the presence of waves, which means that there is a dynamic interface of air and water,” said Dr. Cardinas.
“When we look back at the place where the first life evolved on Earth, it was in the interaction between the oceans and the earth, so this is to draw a picture of ancient home -based environments, capable of harboring friendly conditions towards microbial life.”
“When we compared Mars data with radar pictures of coastal deposits on the ground, we found amazing similarities.”
“The decline angles that were observed on Mars fell directly within the scope of those seen in the coastal sediment on the ground.”
“We see that the coastal line of this body of water has evolved over time,” said Dr. Cardinas.
“We tend to think about Mars as just a fixed shot of the planet, but it was developing. Rivers were flowing, and the sediments were moving, and the Earth was built and eroded. This type of sedimentary geology can tell us what the scene looks, how they evolved, and most importantly, help us Determine where we want to search for past life.
“The discovery indicates that Mars was one day a more moisture place than it is, which supports the hypothesis of the previous ocean, which covered a large part of the Arctic of the planet.”
The study also provides new information about the development of the Mars environment, indicating that a warm and wet -friendly period has spanned tens of millions of years.
“We have allowed the capabilities of Zorong Rover to understand the geological history of the planet in a completely new way,” said Michael Manga at Berkeley University.
“Its penetrated radar gives us a look at the surface of the planet, which allows us to do the geology that we have not been able to do before.”
“All these amazing technology developments have made it possible to do basic sciences that reveal a set of new information about Mars.”
the results Posted in The facts of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Jianhoi Lee And others. 2025. The coastal deposits of the old ocean filmed on Mars. pnas 122 (9): e2422213122; Doi: 10.1073/pnas.2422213122