Summary
China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission, utilizing the Mars Rover Penetrating Radar (RoPeR), has unveiled complex structures beneath the Martian surface at the Zhurong landing site. This study has highlighted the presence of buried craters, suggesting that Mars experiences a higher erosion rate than the Moon.
A diverse range of geomorphological features, including troughs, ridges, cones, mesas, dunes, and crater ejecta deposits, characterizes the landing site. The surface area studied is notably dusty. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data was employed to understand these features better, complementing the RoPeR findings.
RoPeR’s radar data was instrumental in analyzing the subsurface structure. It revealed that the average relative permittivity of the Martian soil is slightly above 3. Interestingly, the radar data showed a significant drop in energy at approximately 0.9 meters within the crater wall. It was likely due to debris or fractures from the observation. Another set of echoes with strong reflections was also detected at shallower depths of less than 0.4 meters. Ejecta deposits likely cause these reflections within the continuous ejecta blanket of the crater.
The findings align with previous research, which suggested that Martian dust shares similarities in composition with the global soil unit and the bulk basaltic Mars crust. However, it is also enriched in sulfur (S) and chlorine (Cl), as noted by researcher Chen. This comprehensive study of the Martian surface and subsurface at the Zhurong landing site enhances our understanding of Mars’ geological history and present conditions.
R. Chen et al., “Martian soil as revealed by ground-penetrating radar at the Tianwen-1 landing site,” Geology, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 315–319, Mar. 2023, doi: .
