Chinese Rover's Discovery Gives Surprise Insight Into Mars's Water History

A Mars rover's findings suggest water may have persisted on the red planet much longer than previously thought, researchers from China's National Space Science Center said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2022) A Mars rover's findings suggest water may have persisted on the red planet much longer than previously thought, researchers from China's National Space Science Center said.

A study of hydrated minerals found at the rover's landing site point to continued presence of water on Mars well into its most recent Amazonian epoch, which scientists previously believed was dry and cold.

"In situ evidence for aqueous activities identified at Zhurong's landing site indicates a more active Amazonian hydrosphere for Mars than previously thought," the paper published in the Science Advances journal read.

The minerals were contained within bright-toned rocks in Utopia Planitia, a vast plain located in the planet's northern hemisphere.

Scientists speculated that this layer of so-called duricrust was thicker than the mineral crust formed by water vapor, suggesting it was formed by more substantial amounts of water originating from either groundwater rising or subsurface ice melting.

This finding not only proves that liquid water had been sculpting the Martian surface longer than thought but also that crystals or ground ice may serve as an accessible source of water for future Mars explorers.