Recent ground-penetrating radar data from China's Zhurong rover suggests that Mars may have once had sandy beaches along the shoreline of a hypothesized ocean known as Deuteronilus. This ocean is believed to have existed approximately 3.5 to 4 billion years ago when Mars had a warmer climate and thicker atmosphere. The radar discovered sediment layers beneath the Martian surface, resembling beach deposits on Earth, pointing to a former body of water that could have supported life. This data enhances our understanding of Mars' geological history and potential habitability.
'By using ground-penetrating radar we found direct evidence of coastal deposits that weren't visible from the surface,' said Hai Liu, a planetary scientist.
'This radar data suggests that there was a large and long-lived body of water on Mars that shaped its surface features,' the research team commented.
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