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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 <\/a>. This is a far cry from the arid, freezing and radiation-filled conditions of modern Mars.<\/p>\n Scientists discovered evidence of buried beaches after they analyzed below-ground imaging data from China\u2019s 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, <\/em><\/a>. They found subsurface material that\u2019s angled and tilted toward a lowland, which likely was an ocean at some point.<\/p>\n “Typically the radar picks up on even subtle changes in sediment size, which is probably what\u2019s 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.”<\/p>\n See for yourself \u2014 The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 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 <\/a> and <\/a>. There\u2019s also evidence of liquid water <\/a> in the present day.<\/p>\n “A beach is an interface between shallow water, air and land. It\u2019s these sorts of environments where it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTrusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox<\/h3>\n