The Curiosity rover has discovered a mysterious field on Mars that scientists at NASA are currently unable to explain (video).

The NASA rover Curiosity has been climbing Mount Sharp since 2014, which was discovered in the 1970s. A channel named Gediz Vallis runs through this Martian mountain, filled with boulders, and some scientists believe it may have once been the bed of a river, as reported by Space.com.

Curiosity entered Gediz Vallis in early 2024, and yesterday NASA released a 360-degree panoramic view of the channel.

The origin of this channel on Mars remains a topic of debate. It is possible that water flowed here several eons ago, or strong winds could have shaped the channel. Additionally, landslides from Mount Sharp may have carved Gediz Vallis, which would explain the boulders found at its bottom.

Among these debris, the rover discovered intriguing sulfur stones, which are highlighted in the panoramic video. The rover managed to flip one of these pale stones and break it open. Inside the crushed stone, yellow sulfur crystals were found.

On Earth, sulfur comes from hot springs and volcanoes, but none of these features have been identified on Mars. The NASA team is currently unsure how to explain their finding.

"We examined the sulfur field from all angles, looking for anything mixed with sulfur that could give us clues about how these stones formed. We collected a vast amount of data, and now we have to solve this puzzle," says Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada.

After a decade of hard work, Curiosity is still operational. The next destination for the rover is further along Mount Sharp, where a network of web-like patterns can be found on the surface.

Such regions are referred to by scientists as "boxes," where a cellular structure may form in certain fractured or jointed sedimentary rocks. This "box" spans an area of 10 to 20 km and may have formed as water-carried minerals filled fractures on the surface of the mountain.

"Early Earth microbes survived in similar environments. That's what makes this region so exciting for research," says Curiosity team scientist Kirsten Siebach.

Scientists plan to gather data about this region to understand how such features in Gediz Vallis were formed. The research team is currently compiling a timeline of events based on what Curiosity has observed during its travels.

As a reminder, the NASA rover has suffered significant damage after 12 years on Mars. New photographs taken by the rover's onboard cameras show that the wheels of the robotic vehicle are severely damaged.