Zhurong discovers irregular underground fissures on Mars
China's Mars rover Zhurong has detected the presence of irregular underground fissures during radar scans of the planet's surface.
AA
Findings from research conducted by scientists at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published in the journal "Nature Astronomy," provide new evidence regarding climate change and water activity on Mars.
During its operations in Utopia Planitia, a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars, the rover detected 16 polygonal fissures 35 meters below the surface along a path of approximately 1.2 kilometers.
Radars mounted on China's Mars rover Zhurong detected 16 irregular wedges buried underneath a vast plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars. Researchers identified the polygonal wedges below a depth of 35 m within the rover's journey of about 1.2 km. (Journal Nature Astronomy) pic.twitter.com/vciNGsBCJB
— China Science (@ChinaScience) November 24, 2023
Researchers estimate that the fissures, which range in diameter from a few centimeters to tens of meters, were formed as a result of freeze-thaw cycles. They also assessed that these could have been caused by the cooling and cracking of wet sediment layers or lava, or by the contraction of rocks due to temperature differences in the atmosphere.
The researchers emphasized that the morphological differences between the surface and the subsurface could be a sign of a profound climate transformation that affected water activity and thermal conditions in the Red Planet's past.