China's Zhurong rover has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars, revealing signs of recent water activity on the planet's surface. This suggests that certain regions on Mars could potentially support life.
Chinese scientists report that the rover, which successfully landed on Mars in 2021, identified indications of liquid water on sand dunes located at lower latitudes, closer to the equator and distant from the polar areas. Scientists have long held the belief that Mars once possessed a climate resembling that of Earth, with an ocean spanning its surface approximately three billion years ago. This stands in stark contrast to its current arid and desolate landscape.
A lingering question perplexing scientists has been the fate of Mars' water. The prevailing hypothesis suggests that a substantial portion of it might have become trapped within the planet's outer layer or crust. Till now, no evidence had been provided to show the presence of liquid water at low latitudes on Mars. But Friday’s discovery is a major breakthrough for understanding the evolutionary history of Mars as it provides future possible clues for extra-terrestrial life.
The scientists, in their paper published in ScienceAdvances, however, pointed out that the rover did not directly detect any water in the form of frost or ice, rather it observed salt-rich dunes with cracks and crusts. Their study revealed that the surface layer of the dune was rich in hydrated sulfates, hydrated silica, iron oxide minerals and possibly chlorides.
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