"It shouldn't be there!" NASA's rover has made a stunning discovery

NASA's Curiosity rover has found crystals of rare pure sulfur on Mars. The discovery was unexpected, as the spacecraft accidentally crushed a rock with its tires, where it discovered this chemical element.

Scientists emphasize that pure yellow crystals have never been seen on the Red Planet before. Therefore, this is a very important finding, LiveScience writes.

According to NASA, the rover was exploring Gediz Valles, a channel carved into the steep slopes of Mount Sharp in the heart of Gale Crater. And it accidentally ran over a small rock, splitting it. When the rover's cameras focused on what the robot tripped over, scientists noticed unusual yellow crystals shining among the newly discovered "insides" of the rock.

The crystals in the cracked rock were too small and delicate for the rover to collect and examine properly. The robot then drilled into a neighboring rock, where it also found crystals of pure sulfur.

Scientists report that sulfur has been found on Mars before, but only in combination with other elements in compounds known as sulfates. Until now, pure sulfur, also known as elemental sulfur, has never been found on the Red Planet. Scientists suspected that elemental sulfur might be somewhere on Mars, but were surprised to find it in surface rocks.

"This shouldn't be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things makes planetary exploration very exciting," said Ashwin Vasavada, a researcher on the Curiosity rover project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The rover has not confirmed the presence of yellow crystals in other rocks. However, scientists are confident that neighboring rocks also contain sulfur, making this area interesting for future research.

"Finding a field of rocks made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert," added Wasawada.

According to NASA, the Curiosity rover, which landed in the region in 2012, has found several other interesting rocks in and around the Gediz Valley. In February, the spacecraft took photos of "waves" carved into the bottom of an ancient lake by Martian water millions of years ago. And in May, the robotic rover found rocks containing manganese oxide, the best evidence yet that the Red Planet once had an oxygen-rich atmosphere similar to Earth's.

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