Weather of Arabia - Chinese scientists announced new results from surveys conducted at the landing site of the “Zurong” rover on the surface of Mars, in the plain of Utopia Planitia in the northern hemisphere, and the team revealed the discovery of irregular polygonal structures extending to a depth of up to 35 meters. Along the robot's path, the dimensions of these structures range from small centimeters to several tens of metres. Scientists believe that these buried polygonal terrains have arisen as a result of freeze-thaw cycles on the surface of Mars over time, but they may also be of a volcanic nature resulting from... Cold lava flows.
The Zurong spacecraft landed on Mars on May 15, 2021, making China the second country in history to successfully land on the red planet.
The rover, named after the Chinese god of fire, explored its landing site and transmitted images, including a "selfie" with the lander, taken by a remote camera, to study the Martian terrain and measurements using a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) instrument . Zurong 's main purpose was to conduct a three-month ground mission, but it operated successfully for more than a year before entering hibernation.
Although there has been no news about the rover since May 2022, scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who worked with the Zurong data, confirmed that the GPR instrument represents an important complement to orbital radar explorations from other missions such as Mars Express and the Orbiter. China's Tianwen-1 They noted that an in-situ GPR survey can provide important local details about surface structures and their composition at a depth of up to 100 meters along the vehicle's path.
The data indicate the discovery of sixteen polygonal structures 1.2 kilometers long, indicating the presence of a broad distribution of similar terrain beneath “Utopia Planitia,” which may have formed billions of years ago during early Martian times.
Although polygonal terrain has been observed in several areas of the surface of Mars through previous missions, the current discovery is the first to show indications of the presence of buried polygonal features, as the team explained that this terrain, which is polygonal and buried, entails a cold environment, and may be related to the processes of freezing and thawing of water and ice. In southern Utopia Planitia for a period extending from 3.7 to 2 billion years.
Zurong radar data from previous research showed that multiple floods in the same time period led to the formation of multiple layers beneath the surface of Utopia Planitia. In the same vein, the team noted that possible formation mechanisms include shrinkage of wet sediments, leading to the formation of mud cracks. , as well as thermal contraction resulting from the cooling of the lava , which also leads to the formation of cracks.
Experts believe, based on hypotheses about the origin of these discovered polygonal structures , that there is a change in climate on Mars in low to medium latitudes, as a result of the great tilt of the planet, and the Chinese team explained that:
"The internal structure with the overlying material of the buried polygonal terrain indicates a marked change in paleoclimate at a later time. The variation at depth of about 35 meters shows a marked shift in water activity or thermal conditions on ancient Mars, indicating a climate disturbance at low latitudes." to medium.”
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Sources:
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