Ancient beach discovered on Mars suggests long-lived water
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Chinese and American scientists working with data from the China National Space Administration’s Zhurong rover have identified what they believe to be a 3 billion-year-old beach in Utopia Planitia, a large impact basin in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
The team analyzed rocks buried near features thought to be ancient shorelines, using ground-penetrating radar to examine layers up to 100 meters beneath the surface.
The rover’s instruments detected layers of rock dipping towards the basin, a pattern consistent with sediment deposited by an ocean on Earth. Researchers determined the rocks were likely sedimentary, ruling out volcanic formations. This evidence supports the idea that a large ocean once surrounded the northern third of Mars, a theory some scientists have debated.
Previous evidence suggested Mars had abundant surface water during its Noachian period, 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago, but less during the Hesperian period, 3.7 to 3 billion years ago. This new discovery indicates that stable surface water, and potentially habitable environments, may have existed on Mars later into the Hesperian period than previously thought, extending the time frame for possible life on the planet.
