On November 20, 2024, NASA's Curiosity rover, operating in the Jezero Crater on Mars, captured images of a field of bright white sulfur rocks, marking the first discovery of pure sulfur on the planet.
The rover's findings came as it passed through the Gediz Vallis channel, an area previously observed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which did not reveal the small sulfur stones due to their size.
Curiosity's instruments confirmed the rocks' composition when one was crushed, revealing yellow crystals inside. The formation of these sulfur rocks remains a mystery, as they are typically associated with volcanic activity and hot springs on Earth, neither of which have been observed in the region.
Ashwin Vasavada, the project scientist for Curiosity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, stated, “We have gathered a ton of data and now have a fun puzzle to solve.” The rover has traveled approximately 33 kilometers since its landing in 2012 and is now heading toward a unique geological feature known as boxwork.