Chinese rover finds further evidence for an ancient ocean on Mars

Data collected by the Zhurong rover and orbiting satellites suggests the existence of an ancient shoreline in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars

By James Woodford

7 November 2024

Topographical map of Mars showing Utopia Planitia, which may once have been an ocean

U.S. Geological Survey

A possible ancient shoreline has been found in the region of Mars explored by the Chinese rover Zhurong, providing further evidence that an ocean may once have covered a vast area of the lowlands in the planet’s northern hemisphere.

The rover landed in southern Utopia Planitia in May 2021 and remained active for almost a year. Researchers studying data from the rover have found hints of an ancient ocean or liquid water as recently as 400,000 years ago.

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Now, Bo Wu at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and his colleagues have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the topographic features in the landing area, combining remote sensing data from satellites with observations from the rover.

They say they have found features consistent with the existence of a shoreline in southern Utopia Planitia, including troughs and sediment channels. They also dated and identified the composition of surface deposits in the area. Based on this, the team thinks the ocean existed 3.68 billion years ago, but froze and then disappeared around 260 million years later.

“The findings not only provide further evidence to support the theory of a Martian ocean but also present, for the first time, a discussion on its probable evolutionary scenario,” says Wu.