NASA's Mars rover finds pure sulphur on the red planet for the first time
Curiosity breaks a Mars rock, revealing pure yellow sulfur. This surprising, first-time discovery is unexplained.
Sulphur crystals from a stone run over on Mars
(Image: NASA)
The Mars rover Curiosity has discovered pure sulphur while driving over a rock on a mountain slope during its research trips, NASA reports. The discovery of the yellow sulphur crystals is not only surprising, but also a first for mankind on the red planet. Sulphates had been expected in the mountainous terrain, but it is still unclear whether and how the elemental sulphur is related to other sulphur-containing minerals in this region.
The sulphate deposits are one of the reasons why the rover should explore this region more closely. However, while sulphates are formed as sulphur salts when water evaporates and thus represent a mixture of sulphur and other elements, no pure sulphur has yet been discovered on Mars. But now Curiosity has discovered exactly these crystals when a stone broke when it ran over them, revealing the yellow sulphur.
"Finding a field of rocks of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert," said Curiosity's project scientist Ashwin Vasavada from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "It shouldn't be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting."
Origin of sulphur on Mars unclear
Elemental sulphur consists only of pure sulphur atoms, in contrast to the oxygen-bound sulphur in sulphate. It is an odorless mineral that is formed on Earth through a variety of different geological processes, including volcanic and hydrothermal activity. What processes could have formed the elemental sulfur found by the rover is unclear for now, but researchers are using Curiosity to look for clues in the rocks and surrounding area, NASA writes.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Google Ireland Limited) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
This is not Curiosity's first surprising discovery on Mars. The rover had previously discovered unexpected manganese deposits that indicate conditions that were once conducive to life. Because the formation of manganese oxide is difficult under the conditions on Mars, such a discovery was not expected. On Earth, these types of deposits would form repeatedly because oxygen from living organisms drives the oxidation of manganese. As with the sulphur discovery, it is unclear how the oxygen could have been produced on Mars.
(fds)