Findings suggest water existed on Mars for longer than previously thought

CHINA: Hydrated minerals discovered by China’s robotic rover on Mars in a vast basin believed to be the site of an ancient ocean suggest water was present on the planet’s surface for longer than previously thought, said Chinese scientists.

According to an analysis of data sent back by the rover, Zhurong, signs of water were detected in sampled minerals from just 700 million years ago, the scientists said in a paper published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Mars is believed to have been wet until about 3 billion years ago, when the planet’s second geological age, known as the Hesperian Epoch, ended. In the current Amazonian period, there is no surface water.

The soil containing the minerals Zhurong sampled had a hard crust that could have been formed by rising ground water or melted ice that had since evaporated, the Chinese scientists wrote. The Chinese rover has been exploring the vast plain of Utopia Planitia since its landing on the planet in May last year.

Zhurong has travelled about 2 kilometres from its landing site as it gathers data on the terrain.

– NDTV