Tag Archives: Curiosity

NASA Space Technology Yellow crystals of pure, elemental sulfur appear inside a crushed Mars rock that NASA's Curiosity rover accidentally drove over.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has accidentally uncovered an abundance of never-before-seen crystals on the Red Planet after inadvertently running over a rock.On May 30, the rover was exploring Gediz Vallis — a channel carved into the steep slopes of Mount Sharp in the heart of Gale Crater — when it accidentally drove over a small rock, cracking it open. When the rover's cameras focused on what the robot had tripped over, scientists spotted peculiar yellow crystals gleaming among the rock's newly exposed innards.The crystals in the cracked rock were too small and delicate for the rover to properly handle. But when the robot drilled into another nearby rock, it revealed the...