China’s Zhurong rover has helped reveal a lot of information about Mars. However, it is still unclear how the polygonal structures buried under the ground in the Utopia Planitia plain were created.
The device completed its mission in August 2021 and provided new information about a nearby planet. Confirmed, among others: presence of salty water on Mars. However, some of the puzzles could not be solved.
The rest of the article is below the video
The mysterious discovery of the Chinese rover
One of the biggest mysteries discovered by the Chinese rover were polygonal structures hidden under the ground. The research results have been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
These are 16 polygonal structures located under the ground. Scientists believe that the structures are sedimentary in nature and formed as a result of thermal processes occurring in various climates.
The mysterious structures were formed during freeze-thaw cycles, which then led to the formation of cracks in the terrain. According to information obtained from the rover’s radar, part of the cracked terrain and its polygonal structure could have been filled. The formation was located underground at a depth of 35 meters.
Currently, the Utopia Planitia plain occurs at low and mid-latitudes. This area is 25 degrees north of the Martian equator. Previously, the planet may have had a greater tilt, so the region could experience completely different seasons.
The scientists’ concept seems surprising because it would question the current information about the planet. If the structures required freezing and thawing, Mars’ climate may have once been even more variable. Perhaps this was influenced by a humid environment that later ceased to exist, or by some other unknown geological phenomenon.
Paweł Maziarz, journalist of Wirtualna Polska
2023-12-02 19:10:29
#Chinese #rover #discovered #strange #structures #Mars #Scientists #theory
