A rock on Mars has just spilled a surprising yellow treasure after Curiosity accidentally cracked through its unremarkable exterior.
When the rover rolled its 899-kilogram (1,982-pound) body over the rock, the rock broke open, revealing yellow crystals of elemental sulfur: brimstone. Although sulfates are fairly common on Mars, this is the first time sulfur has been found on the red planet in its pure elemental form.
What's even more exciting is that the Gediz Vallis Channel, where Curiosity found the rock, is littered with rocks that look suspiciously similar to the sulfur rock before it got fortuitously crushed – suggesting that, somehow, elemental sulfur may be abundant there in some places.
"Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert," says Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Mars
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Mars
Curiosity Cracked Open a Rock on Mars And Found a Huge Surprise
I am living in a world far beyond the scope of my imagination. Every time the planet rotates, I wake up in a brand new world full of wonders.
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The main thing I remember about sulfur is it smells like rotten eggs.
But the article says it's essential for all life (critical for several amino acids).
But the article says it's essential for all life (critical for several amino acids).
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Hydrogen sulfide smells like rotten eggs. Elemental sulfur not so much.
Sulfur is also in the thiocyanate compounds that give brassicas (cabbage and its plamates) their characteristic bitter taste and especially the pong when cabbage is boiled too long.