„It shouldn’t be, so now we have to explain it.”
Pop Rocks
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover inadvertently crushed a rock while probing an area rich in sulfates — and revealed a treasure trove of glistening, yellow crystals.
According to the space agency, it’s unlike anything a rover has ever come across. Instead of the sulfur-based minerals that had already been discovered several times in the region, the fractured-open rock turned out to be pure, elemental sulfur.
„Finding a rocky field of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada. NASA report. „It shouldn’t be, so now we have to explain it. Finding strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”
Sulfur wonder
According to NASA, Curiosity discovered while going „off-roading” that it snakes beneath Mount Sharp in a canyon called the Geddis Wallis, a large crater that forms a 3.4-mile peak at its center.
The rover has been exploring the mountain for just under a decade now, and has made many fascinating discoveries. Scientists believe Gediz Vallis was carved into the surface of Mars by liquid water and debris billions of years ago.
Curiosity is exploring large mounds of debris deposited by such waterways — or perhaps landslides.
How the debris formed remains a mystery, with scientists concluding that the material was once soaked in water.
„This is not a quiet period on Mars,” said Peggy Williams, a Planetary Science Institute scientist and deputy principal investigator for Curiosity’s MastCam. „There’s been an exciting amount of activity here. We’re seeing a lot of flow in the channel, including energetic floods and boulder-laden flows.”
Unfortunately, the latest treasure discovered by Curiosity is too small for its 7-foot robotic arm to drill into.
But it has already found its next target: a rock known as „Mammoth Lakes,” which could shed more light on the sulfur mystery.
More on interest: NASA’s Mars rover follows the course of what appears to be an ancient river
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