The craft hasn’t moved for months, spurring speculation that something might have gone wrong with it. On Tuesday, a designer for the Chinese Mars mission confirmed to state TV that the rover likely accumulated so much dust on its solar panels that it has been unable to power back up.
Just because the rover is likely down for the count, though, doesn’t mean that it can’t still deliver groundbreaking discoveries. Case in point: researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered evidence of saltwater through analysis of Martian sand dunes by Zhurong.
In a study published on Friday in Science Advances, images and chemical data gathered by the rover show hints that melting pockets of frozen water might have formed cracks and erosion on the sand dunes. Of course, where there’s water, there’s also potential for life, so the discovery could point the way for future research into signs of life on the Red Planet.
CHUCKYSCARNAGE 