NASA's Curiosity rover has found a large amount of pure sulfur on the planet after recently hitting and shattering a rock.
It is noted that on May 30, scientists were stunned when the rock on which the NASA rover passed cracked. As a result, yellow crystals of sulfur were found there.
"Finding a field of pure sulfur rocks is like finding an oasis in the desert. It shouldn't be there, so we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting," said Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The rover has previously observed sulfur on Mars, but only mixed with other minerals, including magnesium and calcium. NASA says pure sulfur, an odorless element that forms under very special conditions that scientists have not linked to the rover's location, is found in many rocks throughout the region.