NASA is shocked by unexpected discovery of Mars that “shouldn’t be there” – and is a key ingredient for life

NASA scientists have found an “unexpected” but fundamental ingredient for life on Mars, hidden in a cluster of yellow crystals.

It is the first time that these yellow crystals have been found on the Red Planet in 30 years of exploration.

two

“It forms only under a narrow range of conditions that scientists have not associated with the history of this location,” according to NASA.

The crystals were discovered by the Curiosity rover as it passed over a rock in the Gediz Vallis canal, believed to be an extinct river.

Using its Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), a high-tech tool that can see what rock and soil samples are made of, Curiosity confirmed that the crystals were elemental sulfur.

Although sulfur-containing minerals have been observed on the Red Planet, elemental sulfur has not been found on its own until now.

And apparently there are tons of these rocks in the canal.

“Finding a boulder field made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada.

“It shouldn’t be there, so now we have to explain it.

“Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”

What is sulfur?

Sulfur is one of the six building blocks of life, alongside carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus.

These elements combined constitute 98% of the living matter on Earth.

On Earth, sulfur is commonly used to make car batteries, fertilizers, petroleum refining, water processions, and metal mining.

It can only form under a very narrow set of conditions.

Scientists had not yet associated Mars with these conditions, which is why experts were shocked by the findings.

However, it could be useful for creating permanent housing bases in the future.