NASA Rover Breaks Open Mars Rock And Finds A Shock Inside

An accident on Mars revealed the surprising contents of an otherwise unremarkable rock. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
A routine drive by NASA’s Curiosity rover has turned into one of the most surprising discoveries on Mars in recent years. The rover accidentally rolled over a fragile rock in the Gediz Vallis Channel and broke it open, exposing bright yellow crystals of pure elemental sulfur inside, as reported by Science Alert. Sulfates are common on Mars, but elemental sulfur has never been found on the planet until now.

Curiosity weighs almost a metric ton, and when it pressed its wheels onto the small mineral lump last May, the rock simply split open. What spilled out startled scientists. Pure sulfur only forms under very specific geological conditions, none of which were thought to exist in this region of Gale Crater. The find immediately raised major questions about Mars’ chemical history and the processes that may have shaped this ancient landscape.

Even more intriguing, Curiosity’s cameras soon revealed that the surrounding area is dotted with rocks that look identical to the sulfur-filled specimen before it cracked. If these similar rocks hide the same contents, elemental sulfur might be far more widespread in this part of the channel than anyone expected.

Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada described the discovery as finding an oasis in the desert. It should not be here, he said, and now the team needs to understand how it formed. The unexpected nature of the find has energized researchers who have long studied the valley, an ancient water-carved channel lined with sediments left behind by rivers that flowed there billions of years ago.

Sulfates on Mars usually form when sulfur mixes with water and other minerals before evaporating. Pure sulfur requires a much narrower and less common set of conditions. Its presence suggests there is a missing chapter in Mars’ geological history that scientists have yet to decode. Although sulfur is essential for life on Earth, the discovery does not indicate biological activity. Instead, it highlights the complexity of Mars’ chemistry and reinforces that the planet still holds many secrets.

Curiosity continues its climb through Gediz Vallis, collecting new samples and scanning for more sulfur-rich stones. The team now plans to study how these deposits formed, using geological models and future observations from the rover. As always, Mars has delivered a surprise, reminding scientists that many of its biggest revelations happen by chance, even under the wheels of a rover simply rolling along its path.