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Scientists are perpetually searching for immoderate signs of beingness connected Mars, and though determination person been galore discoveries implicit the years, 1 made connected mishap by the Curiosity rover wrong the past twelvemonth conscionable mightiness beryllium the past hint we needed to reenforce conscionable however apt it is that Mars whitethorn person supported beingness astatine immoderate point.
The Curiosity Rover's Accidental Discovery
While the Curiosity Rover is often looking for circumstantial things up connected Mars to supplement our existent cognition of the planet, that doesn't mean it can't accidentally observe thing incredible. Some months ago, portion Curiosity was traversing the Red Planet, it accidentally drove implicit a stone and cracked it open. Within that stone was thing that had ne'er been seen connected Mars anterior to that point: yellowish sulfur crystals.
This whitethorn not dependable excessively unthinkable connected its own, but NASA scientists were astounded by the find and what it represents. Stones made of axenic sulfur should, theoretically, not beryllium connected the aboveground of Mars based connected our erstwhile knowing of the planet's situation and however it existed successful the past. It's similar uncovering seashells successful a godforsaken for the archetypal time—it reshapes your full knowing of what that godforsaken was similar successful the past.
This is wherefore the find of these odorless crystals is specified a large deal.
What Does it Mean for Yellow Sulfur to beryllium connected Mars?
So, Curiosity recovered immoderate bright, odorless sulfur crystals successful a rock. What does that mean? Well, naturally, we don't cognize exactly what it means close away, but we bash cognize what it whitethorn constituent to. Right now, scientists are chiefly acrophobic with however these crystals were formed, and however they tin beryllium alongside different types of deposits connected Mars that bespeak a much water-filled past.
Now, Mars has ever had sulfate-rich regions. In fact, Curiosity has been exploring those regions since 2023. There are antithetic types of sulfates, but the ones we've recovered connected Mars are formed erstwhile h2o evaporates and mineral salts are near behind. Before now, they were lone ever detected arsenic constituents of sulfur-based minerals. The sulfur that Curiosity precocious discovered successful that stone is axenic elemental sulfur, which is simply a archetypal connected Mars.
Elemental sulfur is precise antithetic from the hydrogen sulfide variety. You tin get each the specifics here, but for now, conscionable cognize that elemental sulfur is odorless and requires highly circumstantial circumstances to form. Those circumstances were ne'er earlier associated with Mars, which means scientists request to reevaluate their knowing of Mars' past. It'd beryllium similar uncovering the remnants of a histrion successful a determination wherever trees person ne'er been seen before. That wholly changes our knowing of the location's history.
Furthermore, the beingness of this elemental sulfur could service arsenic a caller indicator of beingness connected Mars arsenic well.
What Does Sulfur Have to Do With Alien Life?
Sulfur does not needfully mean that determination is oregon was guaranteed alien beingness connected Mars. Our hunt for alien beingness is inactive successful progress. However, it does person immoderate implications for the imaginable of beingness connected Mars. There are galore microorganisms connected Earth that usage sulfur compounds arsenic an vigor source. Sulfur compounds recovered connected Mars, adjacent earlier this astir caller discovery, ever raised immoderate questions astir past Martian habitats, and we've known for immoderate clip that Mars was erstwhile a watery planet.
After all, h2o impacts the mode sulfates form, truthful the sulfates we person already discovered proved that Mars erstwhile had water. Water has been determined arsenic a captious constituent for each forms of biology that humanity understands. However, axenic sulfur indicates immoderate unsocial conditions that whitethorn grow the possibilities for what microbial beingness whitethorn person looked similar successful the Red Planet's past, not to notation supply much info astir the hydrothermal systems connected Mars and what past habitats whitethorn person existed before.
Specifically, axenic sulfur is simply a captious constituent of beingness arsenic we cognize it, playing a large relation successful macromolecule synthesis. It's besides known to beryllium produced successful chemic reactions successful utmost Earth environments similar hydrothermal vents successful the heavy ocean. So the beingness of elemental sulfur connected Mars not lone expands the database of imaginable habitats the satellite whitethorn person supported successful the past, but besides increases the likelihood that the satellite erstwhile supported life.
Needless to say, a full caller realm of theoretical possibilities has opened up. While it's inactive intolerable to accidental if beingness ever existed connected Mars for certain, the find of elemental sulfur does marque it adjacent much apt than it was before. In bid to proceed learning more, Curiosity has been drilling dozens of holes successful Mars' sulfur fields, digging up caller samples to further uncover the chemic past of the Red Planet.
Ultimately, the hunt for alien beingness continues careless of this discovery. We inactive can't accidental with certainty if determination is alien beingness retired there, oregon if immoderate alien beingness ever existed successful the cosmos astatine all, connected Mars oregon otherwise. But with each caller find we make, our knowing of the beingness grows, and it seems much and much apt that, astatine immoderate constituent astatine least, determination were lifeforms retired determination beyond the Earth. If thing else, we've learned adjacent much astir Mars.
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