Rock crushed by Mars rover reveals crystals never before seen on Red Planet

Rock crushed by Mars rover reveals crystals never before seen on Red Planet

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Mars rover Curiosity has been exploring the Red Planet for a decade (NASA)

NASA announced this week that rocks made of pure sulfur have been discovered on the Red Planet.

The yellow sulfur crystals in a pure form have never been seen before on Mars. Earlier findings have been sulfur-based minerals, or a mixture of sulfur and other materials, according to NASA.

Sulfur discovered by Curiosity.

Sulfur discovered by Curiosity.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS / NASA)

The crystals were found accidentally when NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover cracked open a rock to expose the crystals, according to the space agency. The rover then found an entire field of what scientists believe are also sulfur-laden rocks.

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“Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Curiosity’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 

While exploring Gediz Vallis channel in May, NASA’s Curiosity captured this image of rocks that show a pale color near their edges. These rings, also called halos, resemble markings seen on Earth when groundwater leaks into rocks along fractures, causing chemical reactions that change the color.

While exploring Gediz Vallis channel in May, NASA’s Curiosity captured this image of rocks that show a pale color near their edges. These rings, also called halos, resemble markings seen on Earth when groundwater leaks into rocks along fractures, causing chemical reactions that change the color.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS / NASA)

“It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it,” she added. “Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”

The discovery may be evidence of liquid water that existed at some point in Mars’s past. Where the crystals were found – the Gediz Vallis channel – may have been carved by flows of water, according to NASA.

Curiosity Mars rover captured this view of Gediz Vallis channel on March 31. This area was likely formed by large floods of water and debris that piled jumbles of rocks into mounds within the channel.

Curiosity Mars rover captured this view of Gediz Vallis channel on March 31. This area was likely formed by large floods of water and debris that piled jumbles of rocks into mounds within the channel.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS / NASA)

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Mars Curiosity launched in 2011 with a mission to see if the Red Planet had an environment that was conducive to supporting microbial life, NASA said. The rover continues its investigation by studying the planet’s rock record.