Over the past ten months, the Curiosity rover has been studying a region of the Red Planet known as Gediz Vallis. It cuts through Mount Sharp, which has intrigued scientists long before the rover began its detailed examination in 2014.
We remind you that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) NASA NASA launched Curiosity to the Red Planet on November 26, 2011. The rover landed inside Gale Crater on Mars on August 6, 2012. Since then, Curiosity has made numerous interesting discoveries, particularly related to the Martian climate and geology. These findings have shed light on the planet’s geological history and laid the groundwork for further exploration by astronauts.
How the opening took place
When the rover passed over the stones of the Gediz Vallis channel with its 899-kilogram body, one of them cracked open, revealing yellow crystals of elemental sulfur. Although on Mars Quite common sulfates containing sulfur have never been found in their pure form on the Red Planet.
It is also striking that the Gediz Valley channel, where Curiosity found that same rock, is scattered with other rocks similar to it. Therefore, scientists have suggested that sulfur on Mars may be abundant.
“Finding a field of rocks with pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Ashwin Vasavada, a researcher for NASA’s Curiosity project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. According to him, it is the “discovery of strange and unexpected things that makes planetary exploration so exciting.”
By the way, sulfates can also tell us a lot about Mars. For example, about the history of its water balance and how it has changed over time. They form when sulfur, usually in the form of a compound, combines with other minerals in water. Then the water evaporates, and the minerals dry out, leaving sulfates behind.
As for pure sulfur, it forms under very specific conditions that could not have existed in the region of Mars where Curiosity made its discovery.
So far, scientists know very little about geological history. Red Planet However, the discovery of a large amount of pure sulfur could significantly change our understanding of Mars.
Rock from Mars in which sulfur was found.
Why is this important?
This is of great importance, as sulfur is an essential element for life. It is usually absorbed in the form of sulfates and is used for two indispensable amino acids that living organisms need to form proteins.
Although scientists have known about the existence of sulfates on Mars for several years now, signs life on the planet So far, it has not been discovered. But researchers continue their search.
The Curiosity tools were able to analyze and identify sulfur in the Gediz Vallis channel only because the rover cracked a rock. However, if that hadn’t happened, it is still unknown when the team would have managed to find sulfur, the publication reported. Science Alert Now scientists will try to determine how sulfur could have ended up there. They plan to spend a considerable amount of time on this, part of which will be dedicated to detailed modeling of Mars’ geological evolution.
Meanwhile, Curiosity will continue to collect data about the ancient waterway of Gediz Valley, where the rocks bear the imprint of a river that flowed here billions of years ago.
The rover drilled a hole in yet another rock, extracted a powdery sample for chemical analysis, and continued to advance through the channel. It’s interesting to think about what other surprises await Curiosity around the next bend.