Over the past week, engineers and scientists working with the Curiosity rover announced that they had successfully drilled a site on Mars containing clay minerals and a possible gypsum vein. This may seem really trivial, but this is, after all, the entire reason that the rover was sent to this particular location inside Gale Crater. Clay minerals are a big step forward for Curiosity, and this particular data is sure to excite the scientific community.

Raw image data from ChemCam that scientists analyzed to determine a mineral composition.

The minerals were found after Curiosity drilled into a new site, nicknamed “Aberlady.” Drilling revealed that the minerals inside were unusually soft and clumpy, and later chemical analysis allowed a conclusion that these were, in fact, clay. Chemical analysis was conducted with internal instruments such as SAM or CheMin, as well as a camera that can be used to determine chemical composition, termed ChemCam. In the next few days, we should see further analysis that allows broader conclusions about the geological history of the site.