NASA’s Curiosity rover has made an unexpected discovery on Mars: pure sulfur crystals. This first-of-its-kind finding on the Red Planet occurred on May 30 when the rover accidentally crushed a rock, revealing its surprising contents. Scientists using the rover’s onboard instruments confirmed that the crystals were elemental sulfur. On June 8, Curiosity captured an image of a rock dubbed “Snow Lake” on the 4,209th Martian day (sol) of its mission. Nine days earlier, the rover had crushed a similar rock, uncovering crystalline textures and elemental sulfur within. This discovery is notable because, until now, only sulfur-based minerals—combinations of sulfur with … Continue reading Elemental Surprise on Mars: NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers Pure Sulfur Crystals, Challenging Previous Geological Theories