They are yellow and green and they stand out, especially in the orange rock of Mars: sulfur crystals. It is special that this has been found, because according to the Mars rover Curiosity it should not be there at all.
The Mars rover drove its 900 kilos over a reddish-brown rock and the yellow-green crystals were found by accident. Elemental sulfur is one of the most unexpected finds in space, because many rocks do not contain it. Sulfur has been found before, but never the pure version. Now it is. The crystals are made up of only sulfur atoms and nothing more. We know it on Earth too, but you only find it in places that have to do with volcanic activity.
Sulfur crystals
The rock was taken by the rover as a sample, but it will take some time before it arrives on Earth. Curiosity has been driving around on Mars for twelve years now and was supposed to find microbial life on the planet. Although it has not yet directly found alien life, it has certainly provided some nice finds, including rocks with wrinkles, which would indicate that there was once water on Mars. And water often means: life.
NASA writes: “While people associate sulfur with the smell of rotten eggs (the result of hydrogen sulfide gas), elemental sulfur is odorless. It forms only in a limited number of conditions that scientists haven’t tied to the history of this site. And Curiosity has found a lot of it — a whole field of bright rocks that look like the one the rover crushed. It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”
Scientists recently discovered that Mars is not exactly good for your kidneys. It does indeed continue to come with surprises.
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Source: www.bright.nl
