{"id":805098,"date":"2026-03-05T06:55:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T06:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/805098\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T06:55:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T06:55:17","slug":"nasas-curiosity-rover-accidentally-cracked-open-a-martian-rock-and-found-something-unexpected-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/805098\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover accidentally cracked open a Martian rock and found something unexpected inside"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover accidentally smashed open a rock on Mars<\/a> and found something \u2018unexpected\u2019 inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The US space agency sent the car-sized Curiosity rover into space back in 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, it\u2019s been roaming around the Red Planet and has made some very interesting discoveries, including challenging a long-held belief about water on Mars<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And back in May 2024, it made another incredible discovery \u2013 but this time it was completely by accident.<\/p>\n

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The Curiosity rover found something that \u2018shouldn\u2019t be there\u2019 <\/p>\n

Curiosity and the sibling rover Perseverance, which was launched in 2021, have helped to provide scientists with incredible new information about Mars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Samples from the rover have been hailed as the \u2018best proof\u2019<\/a> of life on Mars, and footage has given us the clearest footage<\/a> of the planet that we\u2019ve ever seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NASA\u2019s<\/a>NASA<\/p>\n

But one of Curosity\u2019s most surprising discoveries was actually an accident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the rover was out and about one day, it inadvertently smashed into a Martian rock, cracking it in two and revealing a surprise inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scientists back on Earth were able to take a look at the rock and found that it was full of glowing yellow-colored rocks that were later identified as pure sulfur crystals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sulfur crystals had never been spotted on Mars\u2019s surface before and were \u2018unexpected\u2019, according to NASA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rover then went on to find \u2018an entire field of bright rocks\u2019 that looked very similar to the one it had smashed open.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,\u201d Curiosity\u2019s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NASA\u2019s<\/a>SB Media\/ChatGPT<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not the only time a Martian rock has shocked scientists <\/p>\n

The Perseverance rover has also made some very interesting discoveries when it comes to Martian rocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, the rover was out exploring the the Jezero crater<\/a> when it took some incredible images of blue-colored<\/a> boulders scattered across the surface of Mars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hidden among the sea of blue rocks was a pure white rock that suggests Mars\u2019s early crust is more complex than was once thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NASA\u2019s<\/a>NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU<\/p>\n

And just last year, Perseverance spotted a black-and-white striped rock that was \u2018unlike any seen on Mars before\u2019.<\/p>\n

The rover was moving through a pebble-strewn part of the Red Planet when scientists saw the zebra-esque rock in the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, NASA said its team had \u2018noticed an increased variety of rocks\u2019 and suggested they could be ancient stones and boulders that had been uplifted by the Jezero impact and brought to the surface. <\/p>\n


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