#^Canadian instrument helps Curiosity discover Martian crystals
revealing a surprising discovery: glimmering sulfur crystals. Something never seen before on the red planet! These crystals are pure, elemental sulfur, which is unexpected on Mars. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), Canada's contribution to Curiosity, played an important role in this discovery. Mounted on Curiosity's robotic arm, the Canadian instrument bombarded the sulfur with X-rays and alpha particles, revealing their true elemental nature.
