Scientists Give Information About Availability of Water in "New World" After Sending Robot To Mars

• Chinese and American scientists who are studying to know if Mars once had water bodies have made a new discovery
• People like Elon Musk have always dreamed of sending humans to Mars and making it habitable like the Earth
• The Chinese robot known as Zhurong rover landed on Mars in 2021, and it has sent back information after penetrating the ground

Scientists have published their findings after sending a rover to Mars to know if it once hosted water.

Researchers and billionaires, such as Elon Musk, have always wanted to know if Mars can support human life like Earth.

Chinese and American scientists have found that there was once water in the form of an ocean on Mars.

According to the findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, there is new evidence that water once existed at the planet's middle to low latitudes.

This was learned through data collected by China's Zhurong rover, which landed in the southern part of Utopia Planitia in Mars' northern hemisphere in 2021, CNN reports.

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China's Zhurong rover can penetrate the ground on Mars to detect underground structures and potential water-ice deposits.

The research findings were co-authored by Li Jianhui, a doctoral student at Guangzhou University, and Professor Liu Hai, and the paper is titled "Ancient Ocean Coastal Deposits Imaged on Mars."

Guangzhou University was quoted by China Daily as saying:

"These geological features are highly similar to coastal sedimentary deposits on Earth, providing the most direct underground evidence to date for the existence of ancient oceans in Mars' middle to low latitudes. If an ocean once existed on Mars, climate change may have caused a large amount of water to be stored as underground ice, raising the possibility that future Mars bases could have ample water resources."

Is Mars the new world?

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, is one of those passionate about taking humans to Mars.

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The billionaire believes that one day, humans could colonise Mars and live there. Musk is one person who believes Mars should be renamed 'The New World.'

He said on multiple posts on X:

“Mars will be called the ‘New World' just as America was in past centuries. Mars is critical to the long-term survival of consciousness. Earth is great, but it’s fragile. We need a backup."

Musk's SpaceX is building a Starship, which he intends to use to take humans to Mars in the 2030s.

He said:

“Starship will make life multi-planetary, preserving life as we know it from extinction events on Earth."

Mars mission might be possible in 10 years, engineer says

Meanwhile, Ziko Abara, a Nigerian electronics and computer engineer who graduated from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka said going to Mars might be a daunting task.

Ziko, who once built a mini rocket engine, insisted that the major problem would be how to get the supplies needed for a crewed mission to Mars. He said Musk's mission to Mars might be possible in the next 10 years.

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He said:

"I've not fully studied his plan, but my suggestion or idea would be to launch numerous starships ahead of time to be stationed as supply depots at different points along the way, when they get to their designated locations, we then launch a crewed one that will always dock at these space depots to resupply and continue their journey to Mars, they'd repeat this on their way back as well.... So the journey oof months traveling through space will be feasible. But yes, I believe Musk may achieve his goal between now and 10 years."

Scientists share information about Asteroid 2024 YRA

In a related story, Legit.ng reported that an asteroid had been detected by scientists who are studying its possibility of colliding with Earth.

The asteroid is known as 2024 YR4, and it has a 2.2% chance of hitting our planet on December 22, 2032.

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Oldest human face found, dates back over a million years, gives clue about ancient ancestors

However, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are still observing the asteroid.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng