A rock on Mars spilled a surprising yellow treasure after Curiosity accidentally cracked through its unremarkable exterior.

NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered an abundance of pure sulfur on Mars after it recently drove over a rock and cracked it ...

Curiosity, NASA's Mars rover, accidentally cracked open a seemingly ordinary rock, revealing an unexpected yellow substance ...

Scientists nicknamed the 5-inch sample of yellow sulfur crystals "Convict Lake" after a lake in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, according to NASA. Curiosity snapped photos of the piece of ...

In this region, the Mars Curiosity rover imaged a field of various pure sulfur stones and drilled its 41st rock sample. Up Next Previous. Next. Robotic Spaceflight, Solar System.

Pure sulfur only forms under certain conditions on Earth, such as volcanic processes or in hot or cold springs. Depending on the process, different minerals are created at the same time as the sulfur.

NASA scientists say pure sulfur has been found on Mars for the first time after the Curiosity rover inadvertently uncovered a cluster of yellow crystals when it drove over a rock. And it looks ...

Yellow sulfur crystals captured by a camera onboard the Curiosity Rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover ran over a rock, which cracked open to reveal pure sulfur crystals.

Yellow sulfur crystals revealed after NASA’s Curiosity cracked open a rock. Inset: a stock image of Mars. It’s the first time this kind of sulfur has been found on Mars.

Curiosity has been roaming Mars since 2012. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS / SWNS “No one had pure sulfur on their bingo card,” Vasavada said. Sulfur rocks are usually “beautiful, translucent and ...

Pure sulfur, on the other hand, only forms under a very narrow set of conditions, which are not known to have occurred in the region of Mars where Curiosity made its discovery.