Right now NASA’s Curiosity rover is still rolling around the Martian surface providing invaluable data about the red planet. Recently it accidentally broke open a rock while inspecting it, revealing a wild surprise.
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00:00Right now, NASA's Curiosity rover is still rolling around the Martian surface, providing
00:07invaluable data about the red planet.
00:10And recently, it accidentally broke open a rock while rolling over it, revealing a wild
00:14surprise.
00:15No, it wasn't the fossilized remains of an alien creature, unfortunately.
00:19But it was this, crystals of elemental sulfur.
00:23That might not seem like a big discovery, considering sulfates have been found on Mars
00:26before.
00:27However, experts say they have never seen sulfur in its purest form like this.
00:31NASA Jet Propulsion Lab scientist Ashwin Vasavada said about it,
00:35Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert.
00:40Adding that it shouldn't be there.
00:41So now we have to explain it.
00:43So what could this tell us?
00:44Well, crystals like this form when sulfates mix with water, which eventually evaporates.
00:49This leaves behind pure sulfur.
00:51But it can tell us more about the water history on Mars.
00:54Something of extreme interest to planetologists.
00:56The rock that contained it broke as Curiosity rolled over it.
00:59Not surprising considering the rover weighs some 1,982 pounds.