On April 22, 2024, Ding’steam published areviewentitled "Water Ice and Possible Habitability in the Landing Area of Tianwen-1 Mission" in the ESI space science top journal Space Science Reviews (SCI, JCR Q1 Top, IF = 10.3). TheInstitute for Advanced Study,Shenzhen University was the first completed unit; undergraduate Jiang Changzhi from the Institute for Advanced Study,Shenzhen University was the first author, and researcher Ding Chunyu was the corresponding author. Collaborators on the paper included researcher Su Yan from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Dai Shun, Dr. Xing Shuguo from Piesat Information Technology Co., Ltd, and Dr. Li Jiawei from the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the National Space Administration.

Tianwen-1 is China's first Mars exploration mission, and in May 2021, the Mars rover Zhurong successfully landed on Mars in Utopia Planitia. After three years of in situ exploration, Zhurong has obtained a vast array of scientific results. This paper primarily focuses on a key component in the mission's scientific payload—the Zhurong Rover Penetrating Radar (RoPeR), and it comprehensively analyzes the research findings of RoPeR, especially discussing the geological evolution and potential habitability of the landing area. It thoroughly investigates the origin and spatial distribution of water ice within Utopia Planitia, establishing correlations with Mars' climatic and hydrological history, typical landform formation, and mineral evidence related to water ice/liquid water in the region. The paper further discusses the potential habitability under current environmental conditions on Mars. This review also details the techniques used in the analysis of RoPeR data, including polarized radar data processing methods and the inversion of Martian subsurface dielectric properties, aimed at presenting the research results of the Tianwen-1 mission, particularly the findings from the Zhurong Mars rover and its implications for understanding Martian geology, water ice, and assessing its habitability.

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the "Lunar and Deep Space Exploration Science Research" special project (No. 42241139), the national major scientific instrument development project "Compound Eye" (No. 62227901), the Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. LDSE202005), the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students (No. 202310590016), and the team project "Searching for Subglacial Water on Mars with Orbiting Ground Penetrating Radars" of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI).

Paper link:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01068-z

Figure 1. The first image data of the landing area obtained by the Tianwen-1 Mars exploration mission.