Beforehand, Curiosity had detected sulphur on Mars, however solely combined with different minerals like magnesium and calcium.The invention of pure sulphur, which types beneath particular situations, had not been noticed within the rover’s present location. Based on Nasa, the sulphur appears to be current in lots of rocks within the area.
“Discovering a area of stones fabricated from pure sulphur is like discovering an oasis within the desert,” mentioned Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s mission scientist at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. “It should not be there, so now we’ve to clarify it.”
The rover’s photos present yellow sulphur crystals throughout the crushed pockets of the rock. These crystals had been too small and brittle for Curiosity to pattern with a drill. Subsequently, the rover moved to a bigger rock, nicknamed Mammoth Lakes, and used its drill to gather a pattern for additional evaluation.
Curiosity made this discovery on Might 30 whereas exploring Gediz Vallis, a channel on Mount Sharp within the Gale Crater. The rover has been analyzing the channel for indicators of historical microbial life.
Mount Sharp is believed to have been wetter billions of years in the past than it’s as we speak. The Gediz Vallis channel, doubtlessly formed by robust winds or liquid water flows as Mars dried out, comprises particles that hints at this wetter previous. Chemical reactions brought on by water have left pale rings or halos close to the sides of rocks, suggesting that these rocks absorbed minerals deposited within the space.
Scientists are nonetheless investigating the formation of the pure sulphur and its connection to different sulphur-based minerals discovered within the area.
“Discovering unusual and surprising issues is what makes planetary exploration so thrilling,” Vasavada mentioned.
The invention was made by probability when the rover drove over a rock pile and cracked one open. This discovering marks a novel occasion prior to now 30 years of planetary exploration.
Nasa’s Curiosity rover shared the invention on-line and posted on X: “Cronch I ran over a rock and located crystals inside! It is pure sulphur. (And no, it doesn’t odor.) Elemental sulphur is one thing we’ve by no means seen earlier than on Mars. We do not know a lot about these yellow crystals but, however my group is happy to analyze.”
The rover clarified that elemental sulphur is odorless, not like hydrogen sulphide, which smells like rotten eggs. It types beneath particular situations that scientists had not beforehand related to this location.
Sulphur is a key component for all times, alongside carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus, which collectively represent 98% of residing matter on Earth. This has led scientists to rethink Mars’ potential for all times and its geological historical past.
Curiosity’s surprising discover within the Gediz Vallis channel, which can have been created 3 billion years in the past by flowing water, has raised new questions on Mars. Vasavada acknowledged the function of luck on this discovery, highlighting the importance of this surprising discover in increasing their understanding of the Pink Planet.
