COSMOS MAGAZINE
New research adds to the evidence that Mars once had vast, cool waters, possibly supporting microbial life.
Scientists have identified ancient shorelines, developed new life-detection tools, and uncovered clues about how Mars became the Red Planet — bringing us closer to understanding its past habitability.
Vacation-style Martian beaches
Radar data from the Chinese Zhurong rover identified formations resembling coastal shorelines, indicating Mars once had beaches and river deltas shaped by wind and waves, similar to those on Earth.
Illustration of the planet Mars covered in water in the ancient past, when its atmosphere was thicker and warmer. Credit: Getty.
Schematic showing how beach deposits would have formed at the Zhurong landing site in the distant past on Mars. Credit: Hai Liu, Guangzhou University, China.
How long-term physical and chemical weathering on the planet altered the rocks and minerals and buried the deposits.
Rusty reasoning
In an Earthly lab, chemists recreated Mars’ signature rust, which supports a wetter past. While many believed the Red Planet’s dust was dry-formed hematite, new research suggests it's ferrihydrite — a mineral that forms in cool, wet conditions.
A key to habitability
Studies highlight that early Mars had a dynamic interaction between air and water, similar to Earth’s environments where life first emerged. This strengthens the argument that Mars may have once supported microbial life.
Microbial fossil detection
Evidence of ancient Martian water has inspired new fossil-hunting tech. Youcef Sellam’s team created a rover-sized laser spectrometer that detected microbial traces in Earth’s gypsum, and could enhance future life-detection missions on Mars .