A new study gives conclusive proof that Mars had sun-scorched sandy beaches in the past, with waves breaking on the shores of an ancient, huge ocean. Information gathered by China’s Zhurong rover, which is equipped with sophisticated ground-penetrating radar, indicated buried sandy beach deposits on Mars approximately 3.6 billion years old.

According to the reports, these formations strongly indicate the existence of an extinct sea that could have once covered the planet’s northern plains. This revolutionary finding provides key information about Mars’ ancient past, revealing a dynamic environment that may have been capable of sustaining life. The discovery represents a major advance in the knowledge of Mars’ geological and possible habitable past.

Strong evidence of ancient water on Mars and its implications for life

The research offers the most solid evidence to date that Mars once had a great deal of water in the distant past. The finding, says Benjamin Cardenas, assistant professor of geology at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the study, suggests the early Martian environment might have been more welcoming to life than scientists ever imagined. Cardenas further said that life on our planet is assumed to have been initiated through the interchange of oceans and land, and the analogy with the conditions prevailing on Mars could suggest that microbial life used to exist on Mars.

If Mars once had oceans and an active planet like Earth, then the intriguing possibility exists that the planet did indeed once have microbial life. This discovery indicates that Mars was not the cold, barren world that we’ve come to understand but possibly had a very more Earth-like environment.

Zhurong rover’s groundbreaking discoveries of ancient water on Mars

The revolutionary discoveries are based on the information gathered by China’s Zhurong rover during the nation’s Tianwen-1 mission to the country. The rover touched down on Mars on May 14, 2021, and searched Utopia Planitia for signs of ancient water or ice. The rover used ground-penetrating radar to find layers of rocks below the surface that also validate the theory of an ancient ocean in the northern Martian hemisphere.

Recent radar data reveals sandy Martian beaches and water-land interactions

The most important finding was from the radar data, in which it reflected foreshore deposits—wave- and tidal current-deposited sedimentary layers. They are very much similar to beaches on our planet, reflecting dynamic water-land interactions on ancient Mars. The sand had to be supplied by rivers, and waves transported it along the beach, creating features like the sandy beaches of the present day on our planet.

As per ET reports, Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley, described how the Martian beaches were likely formed by rivers with sands carried by the sea waves along the shoreline. The presence of such beach structures shows a dynamic world where air, water, and land interacted as in Earth’s coastlines.

Planetary scientist Aaron Cavosie referred to the find as an “extraordinary contribution” to understanding water on Mars. He credited the study with providing additional evidence that a habitable planet once existed on Mars and may have supported life.