China’s space mission has found new evidence of water on Mars

The official press reported on Friday that a study conducted by Chinese scientists based on data collected by the rover and placed by the country on the surface of Mars provided new evidence of water on the Red Planet.

The rover, designated Zhurong, has sent data on the properties of sediments and minerals in the southern part of the vast plain known as Utopia Planitia, located in the northern half of Mars.

According to the findings of the National Aerospace Science Center of China, there are “wet minerals that can be explored during future manned missions to Mars.”

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, revealed the presence of liquid water during the Amazon era – the latest geological epoch on Mars – in a large-impact basin, along with other evidence suggesting that the presence of this matter “last much longer than previously thought.” “.

The study indicated that there is a possibility that this site stores water in the form of wet minerals and surface ice.

China already published other research in March indicating that the area where the Zhurong spacecraft landed in May 2021 may have been eroded by wind or water in the past.

The rover is part of the Tianwen-1 mission, which also includes an orbiting spacecraft and a lander.

Tianwen-1 is China’s first exploration mission to Mars and aims to find more evidence of water or ice on the planet, as well as conduct research on the surface’s physical makeup or climate characteristics.