Mars has always been the subject of exploration by scientists from all over the planet. Now it is the Chinese space agency (CNSA for its acronym in English) that has released new photos that it has in its possession, thanks to the Tianwen-1 probe that orbits the fourth planet in the solar system.
In the images you can see with great clarity the south pole of Mars, where they say the largest water resources on the red planet are found. It was also possible to see snapshots of the monumental Ascraeus Mons volcano, which measures 18,000 meters and was discovered by NASA 50 years ago.
In July 2020, China sent the Tianwen-1 probe to Mars, carrying a remote-controlled wheeled robot called Zhurong, that reached the surface of Mars in May 2021, which has also recorded unpublished images of the celestial body.
Precisely last May 20 this rover China, traveling on the surface of Mars, must have gone into sleep mode while waiting for a dust storm on the planet’s surface, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
The latest images taken by cameras aboard China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter showed a dust storm passing precisely over the Zhurong patrol area. Scientists compared photos taken over the past two months and analyzed recent energy data from the rover’s solar wings, which indicated that Zhurong is now facing an intense Martian dust storm.
More discoveries of Mars
Using data from rover NASA’s Curiosity, scientists for the first time measured total organic carbon, a key component in the molecules of life, in Martian rocks.
Total organic carbon is one of several measures [o índices] that help us understand how much material is available as feedstock for prebiotic chemistry and potentially for biology.” Jennifer Stern of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said in a statement.
“We found at least 200 to 273 parts per million organic carbon. This is comparable to or even more than the amount found in rocks in places with very little life on Earth, such as parts of the Atacama Desert in South America, and more than has been detected in meteorites from Mars.” .
Organic carbon is carbon bonded to a hydrogen atom. It is the basis of organic molecules, which are created and used by all known life forms. However, organic carbon on Mars does not prove the existence of life there because it can also come from non-living sources, such as meteorites and volcanoes, or be formed on the spot by surface reactions.
Organic carbon has been found on Mars before, but previous measurements only produced information about particular compounds, or represented measurements that captured only a portion of the carbon in the rocks. The new measurement gives the total amount of organic carbon in these rocks.
Although the surface of Mars is inhospitable to life now, there is evidence that billions of years ago the climate was more like Earth’s, with a thicker atmosphere and liquid water flowing into rivers and seas. Since liquid water is necessary for life as we understand it, scientists believe that Martian life, if it ever evolved, it could have been sustained by key ingredients like organic carbon, if it were present in sufficient quantity.
*With information from Europa Press.