NASA’s Curiosity rover by accident uncovered pure sulfur crystals on Mars

NASA scientists say pure sulfur has been discovered on Mars for the primary time after the Curiosity rover inadvertently uncovered a cluster of yellow crystals when it drove over a rock. And it seems to be like the world is crammed with it. It’s an surprising discovery — whereas minerals containing sulfur have been noticed on the Pink Planet, elemental sulfur by itself has by no means been seen there earlier than. “It types in solely a slender vary of circumstances that scientists haven’t related to the historical past of this location,” based on .

Curiosity cracked open the rock on Might 30 whereas driving in a area referred to as the Gediz Vallis channel, the place related rocks have been seen throughout. The channel is assumed to have been carved by water and particles flows way back. “Discovering a discipline of stones made from pure sulfur is like discovering an oasis within the desert,” mentioned Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s challenge scientist. “It shouldn’t be there, so now we now have to clarify it. Discovering unusual and surprising issues is what makes planetary exploration so thrilling.”

After recognizing the yellow crystals, the crew later used a digital camera on Curiosity’s robotic arm to take a better look. The rover then took a pattern from a distinct rock close by, because the items of the rock it had smashed have been too brittle for drilling. Curiosity is supplied with devices that permit it to research the composition of rocks and soil, and NASA says its Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) confirmed it had discovered elemental sulfur.