Utopia Planitia is one of three major basins in Mars’ northern hemisphere. It measures about 3,300 kilometers in diameter. NASA’s Viking 2 touched down there in 1976. In May 2021, China’s Zhurong rover found evidence that water had been on Mars a lot longer than has been known before.  

The Zhurong was in search of life on Mars. Analysis of the data on minerals, water and ice in the Utopia Planitia basin has revealed that the basin contained water during a period that scientists thought the area was frigid and dry.

Tianwen-1, a Chinese orbiter circling the Earth, continues to send back new data to scientists.

Utopia Planitia is intriguing  to explorers because ice has been discovered at the surface of the basin and below, using radar probes to visualize deeper layers. 

A research paper detailing the new information was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.We know that Mars had water and was warmer billions of years ago, but the planet became a dry and frigid desert in the Amazonian epoch, which began approximately three billion years ago. 

Minerals containing traces of water were found at the landing site, indicating that underground water existed, according to the study’s author, Yang Liu.

“The most significant and novel thing is that we found hydrated minerals at the landing site which stands on the young Amazonian terrain, and these hydrated minerals are (indicators) for the water activities such as (groundwater) activities,” the author said.

It appears that Utopia Planitia had water millions of years earlier than researchers expected. There is increasing evidence that Mars went through repeated cycles of wet/warm climate and dry/cold climate. Yang said these climate shifts may have been caused by volcanoes and even celestial objects impacting the red planet.

Scientists speculate that the area was once the site of an ocean. 
Did the planet host life?