China’s Zhurong rover, which touched down on the Martian surface in 2021, has discovered signs of a historic deluge that occurred billions of years ago. The discovery was made by studying the subterranean layers at the rover’s landing site, Utopia Planitia, extensive plains located in Mars’s northern hemisphere. This revelation is the first significant result produced by the radar imager onboard the rover, which employs radio waves to study the size and electrical characteristics of underground materials.
Zhurong Rover’s Key Findings
Despite not finding evidence of liquid water up to 80 meters deep, the Chinese rover located two intriguing horizontal layers. The signals from these layers became stronger with increasing depth, particularly from about 10 to 30 metres and then again between 30 and 80 metres below the surface.
These older, deeper layers (30 and 80 meters) likely formed as a result of flooding that carried sediments to the region more than three billion years ago – a time when Mars had abundant water activity. The shallower stratum (between 10 and 30 meters deep) could have been formed by another flood approximately 1.6 billion years ago during a period of extensive glacial activity on Mars. However, the radar data alone is insufficient to determine whether these are sedimentary layers or the remnants of volcanic activity.
About the Zhurong Rover
Bearing the moniker of a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhurong is China’s first foray into Martian exploration, sent to Mars aboard the Tianwen-1 spacecraft in 2021. The rover, weighing roughly 240 kilograms, is tasked with exploring the colossal basin of Utopia Planitia on Mars’ northern hemisphere, a region believed to have been shaped by an early impact in the planet’s history.
Zhurong, slightly larger than NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity rovers but only a quarter the size of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, is equipped with seven primary instruments including cameras, ground-penetrating radar, a magnetic field detector and a weather station. These tools will aid it in its mission to search for signs of ancient life and subsurface water on the Red Planet.
Mars: A Quick Overview
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun and second smallest in the Solar System, displays similarities to Earth in terms of orbit and rotation. As Mars orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 24.6 hours, almost similar to Earth’s 23.9 hours. Mars also has distinct seasons like Earth, although they last longer.
The rusty red appearance of Mars is due to oxidation or rusting of iron in the Martian rocks and dust, earning it the moniker ‘Red Planet’. Its geological features include the largest known volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, and two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Mars-Related Space Missions till Date
Various countries have initiated missions to explore Mars, including the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover in 2021, China’s Tianwen-1 mission (which carried the Zhurong rover), UAE’s Hope Mars Mission which marked the UAE’s first interplanetary mission, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan in 2013, and the Soviet Union’s Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions in 1971.
These missions and their findings continue to shed light on the mysteries of the Red Planet, fostering a deeper understanding of our planetary cousin, its history and the potential existence of life beyond Earth.
Last Modified: February 18, 2024