  The analysis of the central compact object within the supernova remnant HESS
J1731-347 suggests that it has a small radius and, even more interestingly, a
mass of the order or smaller than one solar mass. This raises the question of
which astrophysical process could lead to such a small mass, since the analysis
of various types of SN explosions indicate that is it not possible to produce a
neutron star with a mass smaller than about $1.17 M_\odot$. Here we show that
masses of the order or smaller than one solar mass can be obtained in the case
of strange quark stars and that it is possible to build a coherent model
explaining not only the mass and the radius of that object, but also its slow
cooling suggested in various analyses. We also show that an astrophysical path
exists which leads to the formation of such an object, and we discuss the role
played in that scenario by strangelets assumed to constitute the dark matter.
