Featured Image Credit: NASA / Handout / NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA might just have made an accidental discovery on Mars with the Curiosity rover, unveiling planetary materials that could unlock new secrets on the big red planet.
Discoveries have been a key part of NASA's initiative since it's introduction, and recent years have allowed the agency to spot out water reservoirs over 12 billion light-years away, samples that illuminate the past of the Moon, and even an asteroid that could give everyone on Earth over $1 billion each.
Sometimes the greatest discoveries in space though are accidental, and that's exactly what happened recently on Mars, with the Curiosity rover.
While the Curiosity's initial mission from NASA's science team was to investigate an area that they think was 'carved by flows of liquid water', it was met with a bump in the road that has uncovered something rather fascinating.
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Upon collision, the rock split open, revealing glowing yellow rocks that were later identified as sulfur crystals - something that has never before been seen on the surface of Mars.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab explains: "Where past detections [on Mars] have been of sulfur-based minerals - in other words, a mix of sulfur and other materials - the rock Curiosity recently cracked open is made of elemental, or pure, sulfur."
This elemental form, unlike its mineral counterparts, is entirely odorless - free from the horrific rotten egg-like smell that you'd typically associate with the name.
What's more, this surprise revelation had led to much more, as the surround field was filled with identical rocks that contained elemental sulfur, making what was initially an accident into a wonderful event.
Ashwin Vasavada, the Curiosity's project scientist detailed that: "Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert. It shouldn't be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpecting things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting."
It is often these unforeseen events that lead to the most intriguing encounters, as what you're not expecting to find naturally brings questions and answers for situations that you'd not even considered.
Missions like this are allowing NASA and other space agencies to learn more and more about Mars, as while efforts for exploration have increased in recent years, there's still so much that we've yet to uncover about the red giant.
Efforts have been made recently to further progress towards expeditions on Mars, with wooden satellites supposedly laying the foundations for more sustainable living.
It remains to be seen how far away these real steps of progress will be, but you have to imagine that discoveries like that of the Curiosity will only help us continue to understand the role of Mars in our future.
