A first on the Red Planet: Pure sulfur crystals found on Mars

In a statement on its official social media account, NASA said, "Our Curiosity rover found pure sulfur crystals on the Red Planet after rolling over a rock and breaking it open. We don't know much about these yellow crystals yet, but my team is excited to investigate."

"MADE OF ELEMENTAL OR PURE SULFUR"

According to a report in Forbes, researchers have been exploring a region of Mars rich in sulfates—a type of salt containing sulfur that forms as water evaporates—with the rover since October 2023. In a statement, the space agency said, "However, while sulfur-based minerals—a mixture of sulfur and other materials—have been detected in the past, the rock that Curiosity recently broke open is made of elemental or pure sulfur."

"IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE"

The discovery has drawn significant attention from scientists, and Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said, "Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert," adding, "It shouldn't have been there, so now we have to explain it."

Although Curiosity is a mobile vehicle with drilling capabilities, the yellow sulfur crystals were too small and fragile to be sampled. Scientists are continuing their research into how these crystals formed on the Red Planet.

"WE WERE QUITE SURPRISED"

Jet Propulsion Laboratory spokesperson Andrew Good said via email, "There is no reason to expect pure sulfur in this specific area, so we were quite surprised."

Focusing on the possibility that something like hot springs could have created the sulfur, Good said, "However, we have seen no evidence to suggest that there were hot springs in this area."

It will take time for scientists to parse the data collected by Curiosity.