New evidence suggests that Mars used to have an ocean and sandy beaches

Researchers just discovered evidence to suggest that Mars was once home to oceans and sandy beaches on the red planet, according to data published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This is a far cry from the arid, freezing and radiation-filled conditions of modern Mars.

Scientists discovered evidence of buried beaches after they analyzed below-ground imaging data from China’s Zhurong rover. This data from the northern lowlands of Mars is extremely similar to what researchers find when using similar ground-penetrating radar here on Earth, as indicated by The Guardian. They found subsurface material that’s angled and tilted toward a lowland, which likely was an ocean at some point.

"Typically the radar picks up on even subtle changes in sediment size, which is probably what’s happening here," said Dr Benjamin Cardenas, a co-author of the research from Penn State University. "It tells you there had to be tides, there had to be waves, there had to be a nearby river supplying sediment, and all these things had to be active for some extended period of time."

Scientists have long debated whether or not Mars had oceans, and this discovery certainly implies the planet was once home to vast bodies of water. Previous discoveries have indicated that it used to have flowing rivers and lakes. There’s also evidence of liquid water deep underneath the Martian surface in the present day.

"A beach is an interface between shallow water, air and land. It’s these sorts of environments where it’s thought life first came to be on Earth, and I think it would be a great place to send a follow-up mission looking for signs of past life," Cardenas said.