Chinese rover finds traces of water on Mars
China’s Zhuzhong rover has found evidence that liquid water has remained on the surface of Mars for much longer than previously thought.
It is believed that Mars was wet at least 3 billion years ago – during the so-called Hesperian period, named after the Hesperides Plateau – and later became dry and cold.
However, a new study provides evidence that large amounts of water existed on Mars 700 million years ago, up to the current Amazon period.
Zhuzhong, named after the Chinese god of fire, landed on a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars called Utopia on May 15, 2021, near where NASA’s Viking 2 lander landed in 1976.
The main mission of the rover, which lasted three months, was to search for traces of ancient Martian life. The craft continues to explore its landing site and sends information to the orbiter Tianwen-1 – Questions to the Sky – which orbits the planet.
Data from the rover indicates that the Utopia Basin had water at a time when it should have been dry and cold.
The researchers analyzed the Zhurong rover’s data on the sediments and minerals in the basin, as well as the surrounding area, with several rover devices. They found hydrated silica and sulfate, similar to the wet minerals found by other missions exploring different regions of Mars.
