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.

The evidence comes from data collected by China’s Zhurong Mars rover, which landed in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars in 2021. Unlike other rovers traversing the planet, Zhurong arrived with high- and low-frequency radar systems that allow it to conduct ground-penetrating scans of the Martian subsurface.

Data from China's Zhurong rover on Mars suggests an ancient ocean and strengthens evidence that the planet was once warm, wet, and habitable.