The Curiosity rover was responsible for producing a fault and fracturing a rock that revealed unique information about the origin of the red planet. Scientists claim that it was the first time that pure sulfur was detected on that planet.
The POT continues investigating the surprises that space hides and on this occasion, thanks to a dispatch failuremanaged to find in a martian rock an important hidden secret about him origin of mars.
In search of analyzing the soil and investigating whether microbial life existed on the red planet, in 2012 the US agency sent the Curiosity rover and in a routine investigation, the robot broke down and fractured the rock which revealed great information.
The researchers and scientists They highlighted that they were found yellow crystals of elemental sulfurand although the discovery was in May of this year, only now have those responsible begun a process to determine the composition of the chemical element.
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POT
The Science Alert medium highlighted that this was the first time what was found pure sulfur on the soil of Mars. Thanks to the damage of the Curiositywhich caused the rupture of the Gediz Vallis channelit was possible to detect the presence of said material in very small particles.
“Find a field of stones made of pure sulfur It’s like finding an oasis in the desert“, reported Ashwin Vasavadaone of those responsible for the mission, who noted that the entire perimeter contained stones with similar characteristics.
An unusual and surprising discovery
Regarding the normality of the presence of that material in space, Vasavada added that “shouldn’t be thereso now we have to explain it. Discover strange things and unexpected “It’s what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”
He sulfur arises from the oxidation of metal sulfides and the oxidation of H2S from hot spring water, and when that liquid evaporates, the minerals are exposed to the environment and mix with other chemical elements that permeate the soil and form rocks.
This chemical is fundamental for the life formationTherefore, the experts of the Curiosity mission explained that the presence of these materials strongly indicates certainty that could have existed in another period, some single cell manifestation.
Source: Ambito
