Ground-penetrating radar data obtained by China's Zhurong rover has revealed buried beneath the Martian surface evidence of what look like sandy beaches from the shoreline of a large ocean that may have existed long ago on the northern plains of Mars.

The evidence comes from data collected by China’s Zhurong Mars rover, which landed in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars in 2021. Unlike other rovers traversing the planet, Zhurong arrived with high- and low-frequency radar systems that allow it to conduct ground-penetrating scans of the Martian subsurface.

Data from China's Zhurong rover on Mars suggests an ancient ocean and strengthens evidence that the planet was once warm, wet, and habitable.