For practically a decade, NASA’s four-wheeled robots have been climbing the foothills of Mount Sharp, a tall mountain on Mars that towers over an historic crater, unraveling mysteries layer by layer. Within the newest discovery, the Mars explorer stumbled upon a rock made from pure sulfur, a chemical factor that would present priceless clues in regards to the Purple Planet’s watery previous.
The Curiosity rover not too long ago drove over a rock and unintentionally cracked it open. Inside had been shiny yellow crystals that scientists later decided had been elemental sulfur, NASA explain. Though sulfur-based minerals (mixtures of sulfur with different supplies) have been discovered on Mars earlier than, that is the primary time a rock made from pure sulfur has been found. There could also be a bunch of them on Mars, however scientists aren’t certain how they shaped.
“Discovering a area of stones made from pure sulfur is like discovering an oasis within the desert,” Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity challenge scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, mentioned in an announcement. “It should not be there, so now we’ve got to elucidate it.”
Pure sulfur is tasteless and odorless and happens naturally in volcanic areas because of the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide. However this specific space that Curiosity has been exploring reveals no indicators of previous volcanic exercise. Pure sulfur may also work form Sulfur compounds are oxidized and lowered by means of microbial exercise. On this case, the invention of sulfur on Mars may assist in the seek for historic microbial life on the Purple Planet.
The Curiosity rover has been exploring Gediz Vallis, a winding channel doubtless carved by an historic river that left a 2-mile path of boulders and sediment. By exploring this area, the rover is gathering clues about locations in Mars’ historic terrain which will have offered the vitamins wanted for microbial life to type on Mars.
Curiosity was unable to acquire samples of sulfur rocks as a result of they had been too small and brittle, nevertheless it did discover a big rock close by that the crew nicknamed “Mammoth Lakes.” The rover makes use of a drill connected to the tip of its 7-foot (2-meter) lengthy robotic arm to punch holes within the rock and seize samples that may be analyzed by onboard devices within the rover’s stomach.
“Discovering unusual and sudden issues is what makes planetary exploration so thrilling,” Vasavada mentioned.
