The curiosity rover reveals pure sulfur by breaking a rock on mars

An accident on Mars revealed the surprising contents of an otherwise unremarkable rock. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

#Curiosity

In May 2024, NASA’s Curiosity rover accidentally ran over a fragile rock in the Gediz Vallis canal on Mars and crushed it with its weight of nearly 900 kilograms

What appeared to be an ordinary stone split open, revealing an unexpected treasure: reinforced yellow crystals of pure elemental sulfur, known as brimstone.

This was the first time the discovery in its pure elemental form had been found on the red planet.

Although sulfur compounds, such as sulfates, are common on Mars and indicate the presence of ancient water that evaporated leaving salts behind, pure sulfur requires very specific conditions that were not expected to exist in that region.

Scientists were surprised because, according to current knowledge of Martian geology, something like this simply shouldn’t be there.

Ashwin Vasavada, a scientist on the Curiosity project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, compared the discovery to finding an oasis in the middle of the desert.

He highlighted that these unexpected discoveries are what makes planetary exploration so exciting, as they force researchers to rethink what they know about the planet’s past.

Sulfur is an essential element for life as we know it on Earth, as it helps form amino acids necessary for proteins.

Although this discovery does not prove the existence of life on Mars-something that has not yet been found-it reinforces evidence that the planet had chemistry, water, and conditions that could have been habitable billions of years ago.

The Gediz Vallis canal is an ancient riverbed, full of marks left by water flows in the distant past.

After the accident, the rover used instruments on its arm to confirm that the crystals were indeed elemental sulfur.

Similar rocks, with a common appearance on the outside, are scattered throughout the area, indicating that pure sulfur may be more abundant there than previously thought.

Now, scientists need to explain how this material formed, which may require new modeling of Mars’ geological history.

Curiosity continues its journey through the channel, collecting data and drilling rocks – more than 40 samples have already been verified – in search of more surprises that will help unravel the mysteries of the red planet.

Published in 03/21/2026 08h02

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.

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