Mars might still have some recently discovered seismic activity, but it is still very much considered mostly a dead planet. However, while humanity’s rovers have yet to discover any definitive signs of life on the Martian surface, China's Zhurong rover may have just made a momentous discovery.
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00:00Mars might have had some recently discovered seismic activity, but it is still very much
00:08considered mostly a dead planet.
00:10However, while humanity's rovers have yet to discover any definitive signs of life on
00:14the Martian surface, China's Zhurong rover may have just made a momentous discovery.
00:19The rover landed back in 2021 in the planet's northern hemisphere.
00:23Now experts in charge of analyzing the rover's data say they believe they have found signs
00:27of a vast ocean.
00:28It was likely formed 3.7 billion years ago, but it didn't last long.
00:33They say the massive body of water froze and cut a deep shoreline into the Martian Earth
00:37before disappearing 3.4 billion years ago.
00:40They say that while the evidence seems clear, they will still need a sample return to test
00:44the soil to be sure.
00:45Others are skeptical, however, as while Mars is dead, its strong surface winds are not.
00:50They say they would expect a shoreline to be destroyed by those very winds over such
00:53a long period of time.
00:55Still, finding definitive proof of an ocean on Mars would lend further credence to what
00:59NASA says they believe they found over the summer.
01:01That is markers of microbial life and organic matter on the red planet.