Chinese rover finds evidence that water was present on Mars more recently than thought

Bob Yirka is a writer for Phys.org.

A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working with a colleague from the University of Copenhagen, have found evidence that water was present on Mars more recently than has been thought. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their analysis of data from China's Zhurong rover and what it showed them about ice in hydrated minerals.

It has been suggested that parts of the Martian surface were covered with water up to 3 billion years ago. The Amazonia period is when the water on Mars dried up. The data from the Chinese rover shows that water may have persisted longer than was thought.

The Rover has been on the surface of Mars for a year. During that time, it used its two spectrometers to analyze rocks. The camera takes pictures of the rocks. Smoke can be analyzed by the rover, which blasts them with a laser. Some of the rocks on Mars have hydrated minerals, which are minerals containing water. They found instances of layers of duricrust, the formation of which would have required a large amount of water either rising from below the surface or from a large quantity of melting ice.

The hydrated minerals on the surface of Mars must have been there for a long time, according to the researchers. They think that the rocks on the surface hint at the possibility of ground ice. Future astronauts could use it for a lot of different things.

Evidence from other research efforts shows that Mars had water on its surface in the past, but also flowed, creating sculpted rock features.

More information: Yang Liu et al, Zhurong reveals recent aqueous activities in Utopia Planitia, Mars, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn8555 Journal information: Science Advances

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