Today's Mars is a dry and barren place. But can you imagine that just billions of years ago, it was a warm world with a lot of oxygen and liquid water?
A recent study suggests that about 3.5 billion years ago, there was probably a huge ocean on the red planet.
By studying the topography and sediment accumulation of Mars, scientists finally set their sights on a specific area called the Eolis Ridge Group. This area is the dividing line between the Martian lowlands and the highlands. Topographical evidence suggests that there is likely an ancient coastline there.
In addition to the topography, the accumulation of sediment is also a very strong evidence.
On Earth, rivers and oceans produce large amounts of sediment over time. The location of these sediments can help us understand the history of the formation of waterways and oceans.
Researchers have also applied this natural phenomenon of the Earth to the study of Mars.
Surprisingly, they actually found a huge sedimentary layer that stretches for hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and is more than 900 meters thick. This evidence suggests that there were likely once rivers and even oceans on Mars.
This discovery has further stimulated scientists' expectations for finding life on Mars. With such a large area of water, it shows that Mars, once was, was also a warm and livable planet.
Tidal changes and sediments are important ways to help transport nutrients. And this is also one of the external conditions necessary for the birth of living organisms.
Well, now that the available evidence suggests that Mars was once home to a huge body of water rich in nutrients and energy. And it has all the necessary conditions for the formation and evolution of life.
Does it mean that there was once life there? And we are only one thing away from finding them?