Alexander Lewis
Dec 03, 2023
China's Zhurong rover may have completed its mission, but its legacy continues as fresh insights from the data it transmitted back to Earth continue to captivate scientists. Venturing into the expansive Utopia Planitia, the largest impact basin on Mars, Zhurong spent 357 days diligently exploring the Martian terrain after its arrival in May 2021.
The latest findings, detailed in a research paper published on November 23, 2023, unravel a compelling discovery: the presence of irregular polygon-shaped formations beneath Mars' surface.
These geometrically shaped clumps, detected by Zhurong's radar, are believed to be composed of a mixture of sandy Martian soil and ice. Such configurations, characterised by three or more straight sides, are thought to have originated from freeze-thaw cycles experienced on Mars.
Notably, Utopia Planitia holds historical significance for Earth, being the landing site of NASA's Viking 2 in 1976, marking a significant milestone in human exploration beyond our planet.
The revelation of these subterranean polygons is groundbreaking as they were previously unobserved in Utopia Planitia. While similar formations exist on Earth and Mars, their presence in this region remained elusive until Zhurong's recent findings.
Led by Lei Zhang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, the research team detailed their discoveries in a peer-reviewed paper published in Nature Astronomy. During its traverse spanning approximately 0.7 miles (1.2 km), Zhurong employed radar to probe the Martian subsurface, unveiling these polygonal structures lying approximately 115 feet (35 meters) beneath the surface.
While Zhurong's mission culminated sooner than expected, the revelations from its exploration have set the stage for future endeavours. China is now eyeing a sample-return mission to Mars in 2028, with Utopia Planitia potentially as its target, promising further revelations from this enigmatic Martian landscape.
