Evidence revealed by the Zhurong rover of China lends credence to the argument of an ancient history drenched in H2O, even as it opens new avenues of inquiry into the extinct possibility of life on the Red Planet. According to the latest findings by the rover, evidence of an ancient shoreline in the northern hemisphere of Mars is reported, strengthening such theories that once an ocean enveloped this region billions of years ago. So, if the very basis of life is water, could it have been possible once for life to have existed in Mars?
The Zhurong rover of China has explored the Utopia Planitia which is to unveil the ancient ocean of Mars
The rover Zhurong which was China’s first rover on Mars landed on Utopia Planitia-an enormous, very old impact basin-in the year 2021. The journey of the rover about 1.24 miles long saw it collecting its data using onboard cameras, ground-penetrating radar, as well as via remote sensing tools.
These results were interpreted at Hong Kong Polytechnic University as sediment channels, mud volcanoes, and other features that look like crater-like cones. These geological markers indicate coastlines formed when water was abundant.
This ocean is said to have existed around 3.68 billion years ago. The hydrated silica as well found in the area held the layer sediments of silt-heavy water. Over years, it then froze for around 10000 to 100000 years leaving Zhurong those shorelines that now he has revealed.
That freeze left the ocean as such and began to dry up some time between 260 million years ago. Some scientists claim that some of this water infiltrated underground and according to NASA’s Insight lander data, it filled Mars’ crust with enough water underneath to form an ocean a mile and a half deep.
Sub-surface absorbents that have solar storms: Billions of years of Mars water lost
In fact, the water on Mars did not just disappear; its disappearance is a labyrinthine mystery of underground reservoirs and atmospheric loss. Thus, while underground pores and cracks absorbed a major amount, solar storms from a young Sun stripped Martian atmosphere accelerating escape of water into space.
How the supine planet turned to being water-rich to a dry, barren desert took place more than three billion years ago. But then Mars has such an arid surface at present, yet its history intimates the ability to have hosted life. Our knowledge of how water is a necessary condition of life raises the question of whether microbial life was ever present on the Red Planet. The silty ocean floor and most recently announced by Zhurong opens further questions about the site that could have once supported life forms in parts of Mars distant past.
However, not all scientists argue that Zhurong’s discoveries confirm a shoreline. Critics of the idea maintain that such tenuous features would have probably disappeared after billions of years of erosion. In that case, one can argue for surface renewal by asteroid impact, which assumes of a shoreline more credible.
Understanding the water history of Mars: The future role of sample return missions
To uncover the water history of Mars, one must ascertain the conditions at Mar’s surface, roving not with instruments such as Zhurong and perseverance, which are very much informing, but upon which instruments cannot match those of laboratories on Earth.
This would bring benefit to those missions which conduct sample returns from Mars. Tianwen-3 mission of China is going to return 500 g of Martian soil by 2031, two years ahead of schedule. This initiative may be too early for the project of Mars Sample Return (MSR) program by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) because of delays and budget overruns incurred on it.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has proposed a more efficient sample retrieval capture with its starship mega rocket. Experts claim that it is probably faster to return humans to Earth and then return them back to the Martian surface than to try sending them robotic missions, and this shift may reshape Mars exploration strategies.
These discoveries from Zhurong give just a peek into the history of Mars and back some theories about ancient oceans, in addition to pointing towards possible habitats for life. While theories are still argued, the rush is on to bring back the samples from Mars and unravel the mysteries of its watery evolution. The 38th new year for Mars, closer humanity would someday be finding secrets or rewriting the story.
