Chinese Mars rover finds signs of recent water activity on the planet

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There may have been more water on Mars than previously thought, according to new data from scientists monitoring China’s Zhurong rover on the planet.

The discovery of certain fissures and surface designs on small Martian sand dunes that formed in Utopia Planitia on Mars in May 2021 suggests the planet may have had water between 1.4 million years and 400,000 years ago, according to a recently published study Report by a Beijing-based team in the journal Science Advances.

“This marks a more recent time in the history of Mars,” Xiaoguang Qin, a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and a co-author of the report, told Space.com. Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of CAS also participated in the study.

This study indirectly uncovered the existence of liquid water by showing that there are some geological features that can be specifically produced in the presence of liquid water, indicating its availability, said Manasvi Lingam, an assistant professor of astrobiology at the Florida Institute of Technology, which was not involved in the new report, USA TODAY said in an email Monday.

The report states that the rover did not directly detect water in the form of substances such as frost or ice. But Qin said computer simulations and observations from other spacecraft on Mars showed certain conditions could be suitable for water to occur.

“We think it might be a small amount…” Qin told the Associated Press. “No more than a film of water on the surface.”

How did the dunes form on Mars?

The dunes likely formed from tiny pockets of water from thawing frost or snow mixed with salt, the Chinese scientists reported. The salts in dunes melt frost and snow at low temperatures, forming salty liquid water. These small cracks and surfaces created indentations and ridges, the scientists added.

“We concluded that these dune surface features are related to the involvement of liquid saline water formed by the subsequent melting of frost/snow that falls on the saline dune surfaces as they cool,” Qin said.

The wind has been ruled out as a cause, as has frost from carbon dioxide, which contains most of the Martian atmosphere.

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Does the evidence of water mean there may have been life on Mars?

The dunes that Zhurong explored are near his landing site in the northern hemisphere of Mars. Named after a fire god in Chinese mythology, the six-wheeled Zhurong rover was launched in 2020 and arrived on Mars in 2021. The rover traveled around the planet for a year before going into hibernation last May.

China’s find on Mars may also reveal new fertile areas in the warmer regions, where conditions may be suitable enough for life on the planet.

“This is important for understanding the evolutionary history of the Martian climate, searching for a habitable environment, and providing important clues for the future search for life,” Qin told space.com.

This of course leads to an inevitable question: Could there have been life on Mars?

The research suggests that liquid water was present on Mars relatively recently, and also that its atmosphere may have been wetter than it is today, Lingham said.

“However, none of these criteria directly supports the existence of life on Mars (because life requires many other conditions besides water),” added Lingham. “Although they do make the prospects of habitability a little better.”

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