China’s Zhurong rover has uncovered evidence of a shoreline from a short-lived ancient ocean on Mars, supporting the theory that the planet was once a water world.

The rover, which landed in Mars’ Utopia Planitia in 2021, found features like mud volcano remnants, polygonal troughs, and etched flows, suggesting past water presence.

Researchers identified sedimentary deposits and subsurface layers using data from the rover and remote sensing, indicating that an ancient ocean existed 3.5 billion years ago, gradually receding and freezing over time, Interesting Engineering has reported.

This discovery reinforces the idea of a past Martian sea in the northern lowlands.

Written by B.C. Begley