The Chinese Mars rover "Zhurong" examined sand dunes before its "death" on Mars and made an exciting discovery there.
Beijing – China has just explained why the Mars rover "Zhurong" did not wake up after a planned hibernation, as a study is published that uses data that the rover sent back to Earth before its demise. As the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) writes in a statement, the "Zhurong" rover has found evidence of water on dune areas on Mars. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Previous studies had already shown several times that there was once water on Mars. But when the red planet lost its atmosphere, the climate changed dramatically – today it is difficult for liquid water to exist on Mars. Among other things, this has to do with the very low atmospheric pressure on the red planet. Liquid water can only exist on the surface of Mars in lowlands, which are mainly located in the northern hemisphere – and only at high temperatures and for a few hours.
Chinese rover investigates Martian dunes
But in the data that "Zhurong" sent to Earth, the researchers led by Qin Xiaoguang from CAS found something new: evidence of the presence of liquid water at low latitudes on Mars. With the help of several cameras on the rover, the research group was able to discover, among other things, crusts, cracks, granulation and a streak-like trace on the dune surfaces on Mars. Using spectral analysis, the researchers also examined the surface layer of the dunes.
+The Chinese rover "Zhurong".
© CNSA / Zuma Wire / Imago Images
"From the meteorological data measured by Zhurong and other Mars rovers, we concluded that these features of the dune surface are related to the involvement of liquid salt water formed by the melting of frost and snow that falls on the saline dune surfaces as it cools," Qin explains in the CAS statement.
Dunes on Mars are said to be 400,000 to 1.4 million years old
The age of the dunes is estimated by researchers to be between 400,000 and 1.4 million years. At that time, the conditions on Mars were already as they are today: rivers and lakes had long since dried up. Even so, there seems to have been an interaction between the dunes and frost or snow at that time, the researchers believe. "We think it might have been a small amount... no more than a film of water on the surface," Qin tells ABC News.
These things were discovered on Mars – they don't belong there
These things were discovered on Mars – they don't belong there
In fact, the Chinese rover did not directly find water in the form of snow or frost – with the help of computer simulations and observations from other rovers, the Chinese researchers concluded that even today there could still be conditions on Mars at certain times when there is water. "This is important in order to understand the evolutionary history of the Martian climate, to search for a habitable environment and to obtain important clues for the future search for life," Qin emphasizes. (tab)
Category list image: © CNSA / Zuma Wire / Imago Images