The discovery of a potential ancient ocean on Mars has profound implications for the ever-evolving search for extraterrestrial life. Liquid water is considered one of the essential prerequisites for life, and the existence of a vast ocean significantly increases the possibility that primitive life forms could have once inhabited the Red Planet.

China ’s Zhurong Mars rover has found evidence of an ancient coastline on the red planet. The coastline in the southern Utopia region, detailed in the journal Scientific Reports, was likely left by a sea that briefly existed in the planet’s early history over 3.5 billion years ago.

Chinese scientists have hypothesised that a vast ocean might once have existed on the surface of Mars. This further proves that the Red Planet was not always a barren desert. Scientists say the ocean could have existed approximately 3.