Sulfur Archives

Sulfur crystals imaged by Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) larger image -- NASA

Curiosity Rover Takes a Close Look at Martian Sulfur Crystals

by Keith CowingJuly 1, 2026July 1, 2026

[NASA] These sulfur crystals were found inside a rock after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over it and crush it on May 30, 2024, the 4,200th Martian day, […]

Schematic diagram of global sulfur cycle with major fluxes of sulfur between the deep Earth and surface Earth (in 10 12 moles of sulfur per year, denoted as Tmol S yr –1 ; based on Kagoshima et al., 2015; Fakhraee et al., 2025). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Global Abiotic Sulfur Cycling on Earth-like Terrestrial Planets

by Keith CowingMarch 10, 2026March 10, 2026

Sulfur is a redox active element that may have helped mediate an electron flow that kickstarted life and which presently is an essential element for all life on Earth. Despite […]

Three possible pathways for hydrogen abstraction from CH3CH2SH by the OH radical: (a) abstraction from the -CH2 group, (b) abstraction from the -SH group, and (c) abstraction from the -CH3 group. All geometries are optimized using the M06-2X/def2- TZVP level of theory, with energies calculated at CCSD(T)/CBS, including zero-point energy (ZPVE) corrections at M06-2X/def2- TZVP. The ... represent bond formation and cleavage processes, with significant bond lengths indicated in Å. The atom color scheme is consistent throughout the paper and is illustrated separately for reference. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Interstellar Formation of Thioethanal (CH3CHS). Gas-Phase and Ice-Surface Mechanisms involving Secondary Sulfur Products

by Keith CowingFebruary 20, 2026February 20, 2026

The formation pathways of sulfur-bearing species in the interstellar medium are crucial to understand astrochemical processes in cold molecular clouds and to gain new insights about the sulfur budget in […]

A bacterial ferredoxin FeS cluster -- Ferredoxin is a type of protein found across biology with a key role in the movement of electrons. In this figure iron is shown in red and sulfur in yellow (protein database code 1clf). It is the co-occurrence of both Fe and S that allow the special electron transfer properties of ferredoxin which enable many reactions in metabolism and may have been crucial to life’s emergence. Credit: Shawn McGlynn

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release

Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere May Have Rained Down The Key Ingredients For Life

by Keith CowingJanuary 26, 2026January 26, 2026

New research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that Earth’s ancient atmosphere may have acted as a global chemical factory, naturally producing sulfur-containing molecules that would […]

In the heart of our Galaxy, scientists discovered the first sulfur-bearing six-membered ring molecule hiding in an interstellar cloud. © MPE/ NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

New Insights Into The Origins Of The Chemistry Of Life

by Keith CowingJanuary 26, 2026January 26, 2026

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), in collaboration with astrophysicists from the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, have identified the largest sulfur-bearing molecule ever found in […]

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Larger image

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Curiosity Mars Rover Views A Rock Made Of Sulfur At Snow Lake

by Keith CowingDecember 30, 2025December 30, 2025

NASA’s Curiosity captured this close-up image of a rock nicknamed “Snow Lake” on June 8, 2024, the 4,209th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

When haze built up in the atmosphere of Archean Earth, the young planet might have looked like this artist’s interpretation – a pale orange dot. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Francis Reddy

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Study Suggests Ancient Earth Skies Rained Down The Ingredients For Life

by Keith CowingDecember 2, 2025December 2, 2025

Earth’s atmosphere might have contributed to the origin of life more than previously thought.

Energy levels of 2,5-CT and 2,4-CT relative to thiophenol. The geometries and energies were derived at CAM-B3LYP/cc-pCV5Z level of theory. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

A Detection of Sulfur-Bearing Cyclic Hydrocarbons in Space

by Keith CowingDecember 2, 2025December 2, 2025

Molecules harbouring sulfur are thought to have played a key role in the biological processes of life on Earth.

Derived CS rotational temperatures (top) and column densities (bottom) for our disk sample, sorted from left to right by column density. The median values are shown by the dashed orange lines and the shaded regions indicate the 16th-84th percentiles. Several points have uncertainties smaller than the markers. The values for the TW Hya and HD 163296 disks are taken from R. Teague et al. (2018) and C. J. Law et al. (2025), respectively. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Interstellar, Press Release

A Submillimeter Survey Of CS Excitation In Protoplanetary Disks: Evidence Of X-ray-Driven Sulfur Chemistry

by Keith CowingNovember 16, 2025November 15, 2025

The sulfur chemistry in protoplanetary disks influences the properties of nascent planets, including potential habitability.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

Chemists Help Solve The Mystery Of Missing Space Sulfur

by Keith CowingAugust 12, 2025August 12, 2025

For decades, astrochemists have been looking for sulfur atoms in space and finding surprisingly little of the element that is a key ingredient to life. A new study could point […]