Nasa’s Curiosity rover recently discovered an abundance of pure sulphur on Mars after it drove a rock over and cracked it open, which stunned the scientists. This six-wheeled iconic man-made rover spotted sulphur on Mars with only a mixture of minerals which included calcium and magnesium. This pure sulphur is an odourless element that is formed in very specific conditions which were linked to the rover’s location that appeared to be infused in many rocks across the region.
According to a statement released by NASA, “Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” Ashwin Vasavada, who is the mission’s project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said in the statement.”It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it.”
In the released image, the yellow sulphur which has been recently discovered can be seen crowding within the inner regions of the object’s crushed pockets making it interesting to witness. These crystals are too small and brittle for a curiosity sample, therefore the team ended up parking near another large rock nicknamed Mammoth Lakes and started their process on it. The rover drill has a robotic arm that scoops out a chunk and creates a hole, which is then stored for further analysis before being taken away.

The Curiosity mission is in its 12th year and stumbled upon its latest discovery on May 30 this year when they were exploring the Gediz Vallis, which is a channel winding down the slopes of Mount Sharp, around the center of the Gale Crater. The rover is therefore studying the channel for the past months for signs of an ancient microbial life on Mars. Curiosity also identified some signs of debris scattered within the channel, with the rocks sporting pale rings caused by water-led chemicals and some minerals deposited around the area.