'The Utopia Planitia region on Mars exhibits water-related features on its surface,' the researchers said.
A Chinese Mars rover may have found evidence of an ancient ocean on the arid Red Planet.According to a new paper in the journal Scientific Reports, China's Zhurong rover has discovered traces of special features that could indicate an ocean existed long ago around Mars' Utopia Planitia region—located in its Northern Hemisphere.These features include 'pitted cones,' as well as 'pancake-like ejecta, polygonal troughs, and etched flows,' the researchers wrote in the paper.
Previous research on Mars has found that pitted cone structures may have resulted from mud volcanoes, forming in areas where water or ice may have been present.'Pitted cones are small cone-like structures with summit pits and are common on the vast plains in the northern lowlands of Mars. Different mechanisms have been suggested for the formation of pitted cones, including mud volcanism,' the researchers wrote.
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