Chinese scientists revealed this Friday the discovery of evidence of the existence of liquid water on the surface of Mars, through data collected by the Zhurong robot, which has been exploring the red planet since 2021.
The experts, who published their findings in the scientific journal “Advances in Science and Research”, assured that Zhurong detected crusts, cracks, granulations and other marks created by water on the Martian surface.
Analyzes indicated that water-bearing minerals, such as hydrated sulfates, proteinaceous stones, and hydrated iron oxides, abound in the dunes of Mars.
“We believe that the evidence for the existence of water did not come from groundwater but from snowfall or frost,” said study author Qin Xiaoguang, quoted by the official Global Times newspaper.
The existence of liquid water on the red planet has been the subject of several studies, since, if confirmed, it would serve to better understand the evolution of the Martian climate and to support a possible human migration to the planet in the future.
According to the local newspaper Science and Technology Daily, liquid water on Mars could also indicate the existence of life.
Previous research has shown that liquid water once existed on the Martian surface, but it disappeared due to weather changes experienced by the planet.
This study revealed that Mars may still harbor some wetlands in low-lying, relatively warm areas, according to the scientists.
Last September, Chinese experts, also based on data collected by Zhurong, detected layers of terrain on Mars formed by water activity around 3.3 billion years ago.
Zhurong is part of the Tianwen-1 mission, which also includes an orbiter and a lander.
Tianwen-1 is China’s first exploration mission to Mars and aims to find more evidence for the existence of water or ice on that planet and conduct research on its surface material composition and climate characteristics.
Source: TSF
