---
title: "Chinese Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Ocean on Mars"
description: "China's Mars orbiter and rover have together captured potential evidence of an ancient ocean on the planet's surface as we learn more about Martian water."
date: "2022-09-23"
modified: "2022-09-23"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-rover-evidence-mars-water"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Mars"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "CNSA"
  - "mars"
  - "the digest"
  - "water on mars"
---

# Chinese Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Ocean on Mars

![China's Mars orbiter and rover have together captured potential evidence of an ancient ocean on the planet's surface as we learn more about Martian water.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/chinese-rover-evidence-mars-water.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://unsplash.com/@cristianpalmer" target="\_blank"\>Cristian Palmer / Futurism\</a\>\</em\>*

## Water Signs

China's Mars orbiter and rover have together captured possible evidence of an ancient ocean on the Red Planet — signs that could bolster case that Earth's dried out neighbor had a lush, watery past.

As China's state-run [*CGTN* news channel reports](<https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-18/China-releases-first-batch-of-research-from-Mars-exploration-1dqlz05cRsQ/index.html>), the country's [adorable Zhurong rover](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-mars-orbiter-new-selfies>) and accompanying Tianwen-1 orbiter collected data from Mars' vast Utopia Planitia plain that includes mineral information suggesting water was once present on the surface.

Specifically, scientists from the China National Space Administration say they've found hydrated minerals in Mars' "duricrust" ground layer, in what they're calling a sign of "substantial liquid water activity" in distant the history.

https://twitter.com/CGMeifangZhang/status/1571384329724370944

## Ghosts of Mars

Scientists across the world have long speculated that water once flowed on Mars, and many rover missions have [sent robots searching for evidence](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-rover-ancient-ponds-not-lake>) of such.

While there's no water on the Martian surface today, newly-found evidence suggests that it may have been there longer than previously thought. Over the last year, [NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found evidence](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-mro-finds-water-flowed-on-mars-longer-than-previously-thought>) of water flowing much more recently on the Red Planet — perhaps two or 2.5 billion years ago, as opposed to prior estimates that had put the end of water on Mars at around three billion years ago.

Billions of years is a long time to go without water, but as we continue to find evidence of it in the ancient history of Mars, we'll learn ever more about what our neighboring planet used to be like — and, perhaps, what our future holds.

**READ MORE:** [China unveils scientific research results of Mars mission](<https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-18/China-releases-first-batch-of-research-from-Mars-exploration-1dqlz05cRsQ/index.html>) \[*CGTN*\]

**More Mars, more problems:** [*NASA Releases First-Ever Audio of Meteoroids Smashing into Mars*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mars-lander-meteoroid-impacts>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)