Traces of ancient ocean and beaches discovered on Mars, scientists

Discovery details

Scientists discovered signs of beaches hidden beneath the surface by analyzing underground scanning data obtained by the Chinese rover Zhurong.

The information gathered from Mars' northern lowlands closely resembles the results researchers obtain on Earth using a similar radar scanning method.

In particular, layers of rock were found to be tilted toward the lowlands, which likely indicates the existence of an ocean in the past.

"Typically the radar picks up on even subtle changes in sediment size, which is probably what’s happening here," explained Dr. Benjamin Cardenas, co-author of the research from Penn State University.

This suggests that Mars once had tides, waves, and a river that supplied the ocean with sediment. All these processes lasted for a long time.

For years, scientists debated whether Mars ever had oceans. This discovery significantly strengthens the hypothesis that large bodies of water once existed on the planet.

Previously, evidence of rivers and lakes from the past had been found, as well as signs of liquid water deep beneath the Martian surface today.

"A beach is an interface between shallow water, air and land. It’s these sorts of environments where it’s thought life first came to be on Earth, and I think it would be a great place to send a follow-up mission looking for signs of past life," added Cardenas.

#VantageOnFirstpost: A new study reveals that Mars once had an ocean with sandy beaches, with evidence of buried shorelines found deep underground. This study points to past life on the red planet about four billion years ago.

Previous research supports the idea of oceans and… pic.twitter.com/iFIQ61dCVK

— Firstpost (@firstpost) February 25, 2025

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